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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E555]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CELEBRATING LGBTQ+ PRIDE MONTH
______
HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY
of illinois
in the house of representatives
Monday, June 22, 2020
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to join my LGBTQ+ family,
friends, colleagues, and constituents in celebrating the many hard-
earned gains that have been made for equality in our nation and around
the globe. We have come a long way in the last several years: from the
passage of the Equality Act in the House last year, to same-sex
marriage being legalized in twenty-nine countries, and now the Supreme
Court holding that the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits sex
discrimination, applies to discrimination based on sexual orientation
and gender identity.
This Pride Month, as our nation reckons with its long history of
racism and police violence, we must remember that the fight for LGBTQ+
rights goes hand-in-hand with the fight for racial equality. On June
28, 1969 at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, the police rounded up
and arrested LGBTQ patrons and forced them into police cars. Fed up
with police harassing and brutalizing the gay community, other
Stonewall Inn patrons started an uprising outside the bar. Among them
were Marsha P. Johnson, a black drag queen and Sylvia Rivera, a Latinx
drag queen, both pioneering activists who were key figures in resisting
police violence that night, alongside other transgender and queer
activists. The LGBTQ+ rights movement as we know it today was born out
of these brave people resisting police mistreatment.
This year would have marked the 50th anniversary of the Chicago Pride
parade, and 51 years since the Stonewall riots. While we cannot march
and gather this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we can continue
to celebrate our progress and our shared history in the LGBTQ+
community. I'm particularly proud of the role my district has in the
LGBTQ+ community, with the Pride Parade stepping off just blocks from
my Chicago District office, to the historic Andersonville neighborhood,
and to being the home of so many historical institutions like the
Gerber/Hart Library and Archives, the Baton Show Lounge, the Test
Positive Aware Network, and the Leather Archives and Museum.
Despite our many advances, LGBTQ+ people, and disproportionately
Black trans women, still face hatred, discrimination, violence, and
police harassment and brutality around the country and globe. Over one-
third of Black trans women who interact with law enforcement in the
U.S. are assumed by police to be sex workers, leading to harassment,
abuse, and mistreatment. Since 2013, about 111 out of at least 157
transgender and gender non-conforming victims of hate killings have
been Black trans women. And just last week, we lost two Black trans
women, Riah Milton and Dominique ``Rem'Mie'' Fells, who were brutally
murdered. They were the 13th and 14th trans women in the U.S. to be
killed this year alone. And the violence extends to the transgender
community overall, including right here in Chicago. Last month, Selena
Reyes-Hernandez was killed by an 18-year old man who shot her in her
home on the south side of Chicago. We will not forget them, and we will
continue to seek justice, equality, and liberty on their behalf.
This Pride Month we must also remember and celebrate Aimee Stephens
and Don Zarda who passed away before seeing the outcome of their nearly
decade long case that made it all the way to Supreme Court. Aimee, who
was fired for being transgender, and Don, who was fired for being gay,
fought relentlessly to ensure that LGBTQ+ people can go to work as
themselves without fear of retaliation. This week, in perhaps the
biggest LGBTQ+ case in U.S. history, the Supreme Court sided with Aimee
and Don and held that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects LGBTQ+
workers from discrimination. Let this victory renew our hope and our
drive to continue fighting for a world where everyone can live freely
and authentically.
My hope for our country this Pride Month is that we can reflect on
the decades' long fight for LGBTQ+ equality, learn from our mistakes,
and look forward to righting the wrongs of our past. As a proud
grandmother of a young trans man, and as a Representative in the U.S.
House, I will continue fighting to ensure my grandson and all LGBTQ+
people inherit a world that embraces everyone regardless of sexuality,
gender identity, race, or class. Love is love.
____________________
