After 2019’s worldwide celebration of Pride’s 50th Anniversary, it felt like an invisible milestone had been reached. Since the Stonewall Inn riots 50 years before in 1969, the LGBTQ+ community and its allies had fought to end homosexuality being labeled a mental illness, for equal medical treatment through the HIV/AIDS crisis, for the ability to serve their country in the military openly, for equal marriage rights, and with countless more victories.
2019 was a commemoration of all of that. There was immense optimism about what was next. Then, as we all know, a global pandemic hit.
Across the country, Pride celebrations were canceled or moved virtual. A day many LGBTQ+ members have as their first taste of community was suddenly gone. Unfortunately, 2020 Pride cancellations were only the beginning of the difficulty.
Gay-owned businesses closed in droves during the pandemic. Only 21 lesbian-owned bars remain in America today. LGBTQ+ institutions that were once known for being “safe spaces,” a place you could meet other queer people without being an outsider or ostracized, were suddenly halved.
But now we have vaccines. Now COVID-19 cases are on the downturn.
As has been the case throughout the gay rights movement, there have been peaks and valleys. It’s time to climb out of this valley and re-engage our sense of community. You can wear a mask and wave a flag in the parade. You can socially distance and sing along to a drag show. You can hand sanitize after each booth you visit at a Pride festival.
But participate in some way! Whether at home or on the streets.
Let’s do what we couldn’t last year and celebrate Pride 2021. Reignite our sense of togetherness and give our LGBTQ+ friends, family, and community members two years’ worth of Pride!