People’s Pride at University of North Texas

Dallas, TX – On Saturday, June 29, at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), the student organizations Rainbow Guard and Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) held a People’s Pride, a pride event hosted by queer people for queer people without corporations and cops. Spokespersons for these two student orgs condemned Dallas Pride for accepting corporate sponsors like Lockheed Martin and Boeing.

“We reject a pride that is sponsored in any part by genocide, and we stand in solidarity with our martyred siblings,” Rainbow Guard and UTD YDSA explained in an Instagram post introducing the event. “We don’t want a pride that stands over the bodies of tens of thousands of people killed by hostile western/imperial forces in Sudan, Congo, and Palestine.”

“The message of the event was the power of community and queer solidarity,” Poorvi Joshi of YDSA remarked. “It was to show how successful an event with queer people in mind by queer people can be without corporate sponsorships and lax messaging about acceptance, and with themes of anti-racism, anti-imperialism, and anti-genocide instead.”

The event was held indoors at UTD, with colorful and inviting themed décor – balloons, flags, ribbons, disco lights – strewn across the spacious, dimmed venue. The attractions of the event were neatly arranged in sections, from the Artist Alley where artists set up and sold their creations and donated a portion of those proceeds to mutual aids efforts in Gaza, to the games and activities area where attendees could make friendship bracelets or play games – with a political bent to match the tone of the event.

Lively tunes from queer artists filled the air throughout the event, and a performance segment dedicated to show-stopping acts from dance groups and drag monarchs amplified the communal atmosphere.

“Before the invention of the rainbow pride flag, members of the Gay Liberation Front flew the Vietnamese flag in solidarity with the Vietcong at a time when that was considered treason, because they recognized their liberation is tied up with colonized people all over the world,” said Jo Hargis of DFW Anti-War Committee. “That’s the queer history I’m interested in upholding, and one we see today in many queer people’s solidarity with Palestine.”

In another speech, José Campos of UTD YDSA stated, “Organizations like Rainbow Guard at UTD build on these revolutionary legacies to fight against right-wing onslaughts against our community and corporate co-option. In Texas, several anti-LGBTQ policies have been passed within the last year which compel us to respond.”

Campos continued, “The government banned gender-affirming care for children, transgender students from playing in college sports, banned some public drag shows, and is dismantling DEI programs that have been safe havens for queer students, such as our previous Gender Center ,`which is forcibly retrofitted,” referencing the Galerstein Gender Center at UTD that provided gender-affirming services and support for the LGBTQ community before it was closed down following the Texas DEI ban.

“I thought all the speeches were really impactful,” attendee Tanmayi Akasapu affirmed, and commended “the message of the queer performances.” Another attendee, T Reyes, stressed that “we fostered confidence that only a community can inspire, and within that unity, we made financial gains for a [Gazan] family in need.”

C. Rajini, an organizer of the event, stated. “Rainbow Guard and other queer organizations that prioritize agitation against the powers that be are turning the tide away from liberalism and complacency, because they acknowledge that queer people in Sudan, Congo, and Palestine can’t celebrate Pride with bombs over their heads. Instead, they march towards overthrowing this reality, for a liberated one.”

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