A Celebration of PRIDE Month

As we pause to highlight PRIDE month amidst the continued uprisings for racial justice and police accountability across the country, it’s important to remember that while much progress has been made, equality has not expanded equally across all communities.

In Los Angeles, young LGBTQ people of color still face barriers such as disproportionately high rates of criminalization and homelessness, as well as outsized representation in the foster care system, and continued discrimination in employment, healthcare and education. 

Black transgender and gender non-conforming people face some of the highest levels of discrimination of all transgender people, and anti-transgender bias coupled with structural racism means that transgender people of color experience particularly devastating levels of discrimination.

Throughout our history, Liberty Hill has strongly supported community-based organizing by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer leaders, and now we are listening to a new generation of organizers who are ready to lead the way on the fights of the future. These young leaders are at the forefront of the fights for workers’ rights, racial justice and criminal justice reform. They understand the intersectionality of the current movements and that we are stronger together. 

Many of the organizations we support are working to end the continuing discrimination and exclusion of transgender and gender non-conforming people in our society. They also focus on achieving family acceptance amongst LGBTQ people, fighting for improvements in the foster care system, as well as strengthening safety net access for LGBTQ people of color. 

For all of the many ways the LGBTQ movement has changed the fabric of American society over the past half a century, we recognize that we have more work to do to ensure all people are treated with respect and dignity and have access to the same opportunities for success. 

Liberty Hill and our grantees have been committed to this work for the past 40 years, and will be fighting to ensure equal rights for the LGBTQ community for as long as it takes. 

Happy Pride 2020.