Pride more than a parade

By Matthew DiMera

In June of 1969, the New York police raided a gay bar in Greenwich Village. 
This in itself wasn’t news. At the time, raids on gay establishments were commonplace. 
But, this particular night was different; the patrons decided to fight back.

The incident triggered a series of violent demonstrations over several days that would come to be known as the Stonewall Riots and would usher in the modern gay-rights movement.
A year later, marchers commemorated the riots in the first pride parade, and the rest is history. Forty-one years later, we’ve come a long way. 
Pride parades span the globe and are represented on every continent, except Antarctica.

In Canada, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people have fought long and hard for and have won many of the same legal rights as heterosexual citizens. 
For many Canadians, Pride celebrations are just a reason to party and to have fun.

Outlandish costumes, massive floats and plenty of bare skin have become long-standing traditions. 
But, the fight isn’t over yet. 
Transgendered Canadians are still not fully protected under the law and homophobic violence continues to be a widespread problem. 
Around the world, LGBTQ people continue to struggle for basic rights that we take for granted. In many countries, they fight just for the right to exist. 
Fittingly, this year, the Vancouver Pride parade’s theme is liberation. 
On Sunday, August 1, 2010, Kwantlen students will join the thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer people and their allies marching in the Vancouver Pride parade. We will celebrate who we are and how far we have come as a society. We will remember those who came before us. We will stand together in solidarity with those around the world who continue the fight for equality and acceptance. And of course, we’ll have fun.

Kwantlen students interested in marching in the parade can contact queer@kusa.ca for more information.