2023 has already held so much for LGBTQ+ communities in the Northwest and beyond. While much of what has transpired has been devastating, I am continually bolstered by how beautifully fierce our community continues to be in the face of it all.
As we continue to take stock of all that’s happening, I invite you to pause on what I hope is a beautiful spring day wherever you are reading this from, and take in just a few really cool things from Pride Foundation and our communities this month:
1. While Representative Zooey Zephyr, the first openly trans woman elected to the Montana legislature, being censured for speaking out against legislation that is devastatingly harmful to trans youth is decidedly not a cool thing, the incredible response from Montanans in support of her and trans young people is extremely cool.
Check out Pride & Determination: 24 Hours of Queer Joy event this Friday, and follow the incredible work our partners at TransVisible Montana and Montana Human Rights Network are moving forward. Seven brave Montanans were also arrested in protesting the silencing Rep. Zephyr and the fundraiser set up to support them exceeded its goal within hours (and it continues to collect funds to support with their legal fees).
2. Earlier this month, we received a note from Tenzin MP, a Pride Foundation Scholar from 2004-2007. He shared with us his recently released a short essay with us called “A Capacity to Change” talking about the capacity of immigrant parents, in his case his parents from Tibet, to love their gender-diverse children.
We are always filled with hope and encouragement to see the incredible impact the leaders in our Scholarship program are making in all different kinds of ways! (Also check out Tenzin’s film, NÏNGTAM སྙིང་གཏམ་ The Heart’s Tale, which is the first public LGBTQ+ film by a Tibetan artist!)
3. We can’t forget to find time to celebrate, and Tend, our largest annual fundraising event, is coming up on Thursday, June 8th at 5pm AKT/ 6pm PT/7pm MT is an opportunity to do just that! Tend will be fully hybrid with the opportunity to attend 5 in-person events in Anchorage, Boise, Bozeman, Portland, and Seattle, or attend virtually! (Email Helen Stillman to RSVP for an in-person event.)
We have a fabulous and fun evening plan featuring stories of our work from across the region – and a very special drag queen story hour with our returning host, Poison Waters. We hope you have join us!
We’re so grateful for all you do to help make these efforts possible—and thank you for taking this moment to pause and celebrate some community wins with us.
With Pride,
Katie Carter
(she/her)
CEO