By Allison Hope
We gather this Sunday, June 1 at 1:00pm at Greenwich Town Hall at a critical time for the LGBTQ+ community, and indeed for many others.
We gather because Pride is a marker of a long history of democracy in action – of demonstration and freedom of speech and expression. Pride is a public reminder of how our Founding Fathers enshrined our inalienable rights into 18th century ink, and how we have yet to fully realize them for all Americans.
We gather because our little Pride event here connects to Pride events large and small in towns and cities and countries all around the world, linking the tens, maybe even hundreds of millions of people who are or who love someone who is LGBTQ+. And we gather with plenty of others who happen to believe in a fair and just society for all.
We gather because Pride is not just a designation, but a feeling. We gather to celebrate our beautiful, unique and distinct experiences and perspectives that make up the colorful fabric that makes America and our world a place where curiosity and learning keep moving the human species forward towards greater civility and sentience. We gather because we believe that our differences make us stronger as a community and as a nation, and that our common humanity binds us more than anything or anyone who aims to divide us.
We gather because we aim to protect our most vulnerable in a time that is urgent.
Importantly, leaders from all sides of the aisle and faiths will stand with us this Sunday, an important example for the rest of America that LGBTQ+ rights are human rights, and human rights should never be politicized.
Last week, more than 30 LGBTQ+ groups around across the tristate area, including Greenwich, issued a joint statement in solidarity.
When we come together, we are powerful. We are safer. We create community.
I recently read “The Wild Robot” with my child, a beautiful story-turned-movie of an unlikely family formed between a shipwrecked robot and an orphaned goose. A family is made from love, support and protection for one another. The animals of the forest become the extended family for the robot and the goose who are mother and son. When factory-sent robots descend on the island, armed with guns and with an order to kill, the many species of animals in the forest band together to defeat them. Separately, they stood no chance of survival. Together, they were an unexpected and effective fortress and ultimately, victors.
We come together this Sunday, throughout the month of June, and indeed, all year-long – a Greenwich that represents all origins and creeds, our LGBTQ+ community members and our many allies — to create and reinforce community. The tent is big. All are welcome.