By Joanie Juster–
Sunday, June 30, dawned clear and warm, a perfect day for a colorful celebration of Pride and joy. From my view (Contingent #108), I’ve never seen the Pride Parade go so smoothly. Throngs of excited spectators lined Market Street, cheering on fabulous floats, entertainers, community organizations, and more. After the parade, thousands went on to Civic Center to enjoy the outdoor festival, to City Hall for the glamorous Pride Party, or off to the Castro and other neighborhoods to continue celebrating. From the powerful rainbow-hued laser beams shooting up Market Street from the Ferry Building, to the Pink Triangle glowing like a beacon of remembrance on Twin Peaks, it was a citywide triumph, and a glorious expression of LGBTQ+ freedom. Congratulations to everyone whose vision and hard work made this possible.
However, the next day, we all woke up to the news that the U.S. Supreme Court had essentially destroyed the rule of law, the very foundation of what our country’s democracy is based upon. It was a cruel jolt back to the reality of the forces that we are up against in this country, and how tenuous are the freedoms that we had just been celebrating the day before.
San Francisco is a beacon of freedom to the world, but our country is at a crucial juncture, and we absolutely cannot afford to take our current freedoms for granted. Historian Heather Cox Richardson sounded the alarm after the July 1 Supreme Court decision: “This is no longer about Democrats and Republicans. This is no longer about partisanship. It is about the rule of law. The rule of law on which this country is based. What we’re looking at now is four months for those of us who believe in the rule of law, who believe in law and order, to reassert the fact that this is our country, this is our democracy.”
You may have seen mention of Project 2025. If you haven’t looked into it, now is the time, because if those who are currently running the Republican Party win in November, Project 2025 is their extremely detailed playbook for quickly and completely transforming our government, and our country. The New Republic recently described Project 2025 as “a remarkably detailed guide to turning the United States into a fascist’s paradise.” Among the goals laid out in Project 2025 is to turn the United States into a Christian nationalist country, which The New Republic warns, is “one in which married heterosexuality is the only valid form of sexual expression and identity; all pregnancies would be carried to term, even if that requires coercion or death; and transgender and gender non-confirming people do not exist.”
Scared yet? You should be. Americans United for Separation of Church and State has provided an excellent overview of Project 2025. Please read it, let the very real possibility of it becoming our future sink in, and help prevent their plan from becoming our reality. Your own freedom is on the line, and the threat is very, very real: https://tinyurl.com/Pr2025AU
AIDS Walk San Francisco Returns July 21
AIDS Walk San Francisco is returning to Golden Gate Park on Sunday, July 21, and I’m here to recruit you. Full disclosure: I am not writing about this event impartially. I have taken part in AIDS Walk as a walker, a volunteer, a staff member, or a team leader, since 1988, so I write about it from long experience on both sides of the starting line.
What drew me to this event in 1988 is what has kept me coming back year after year, decade after decade: it is at its heart a grassroots event where everyone can participate, no matter whether you raise $5 or $100,000, whether you can walk the full route or are “walking” virtually from your living room, or from halfway around the world. I love the fact that smaller organizations that serve the HIV and AIDS communities—some of which can’t afford to have a development department, or host galas—can raise money through AIDS Walk that might be difficult for them to do on their own. And for those smaller organizations, whatever they raise through AIDS Walk, however modest, can make a big difference in their ability to continue providing vitally needed services.
There is another reason why AIDS Walk continues to speak to me. In a world that has largely moved on from HIV & AIDS, which doesn’t acknowledge or remember the devastation it has caused—and continues to cause around the world—AIDS Walk provides a community of people who gather each year because they remember, they care, and they want to continue being part of the solution. Sections of the AIDS Memorial Quilt will once again be on display on Hippie Hill on AIDS Walk day, as a powerful reminder of all those we lost to this pandemic, but also of the community’s compassionate response to that tragedy.
AIDS Walk organizers also shared some very good news from last year’s AIDS Walk: “Through the hard work of all the AIDS Walk San Francisco participants, we were able to give back 100% of all funds raised by co-beneficiary teams, while normally it is the agreed-upon 80%.”
As anyone who has ever produced a fundraising event can attest, this is huge. Again, especially for teams from smaller organizations, that can make a big difference in their ability to provide services. But there was even more good news: AIDS Walk was also able to give additional grants to all of the co-benefiting organizations, as well as become a sponsor of National AIDS Memorial’s World AIDS Day.
So, join us at AIDS Walk San Francisco on July 21! To become a walker, form a fundraising team, or make a donation to support any walker or team, just click the link. We’d love to have you with us. https://sf.aidswalk.net/
You Gotta Give Them Hope
At the 5th Annual People’s March and Rally on June 23, activist Alex U. Inn acknowledged all the challenges the world faces, from wars to the rising threat of fascism around the world, but also offered words of hope. “Together we will rise above fear and claim the future that is rightfully ours,” they proclaimed. “We’re not gathering here in despair; we’re gathering in defiance; they cannot extinguish our light.” They ended their call to action urging us all to do everything in our power to get out the vote this November: “You still have a responsibility to humanity.”
Joanie Juster is a long-time community volunteer, activist, and ally.
In Case You Missed It
Published on July 11, 2024
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