PRIDE IN PROTEST// PRIDE MARCHES ON//

KAT SIMMERS AND RYAN DANNY OWEN

The first pride rally in Calgary took place in Central Memorial Park on June 18th, 1990. Being gay, lesbian, queer, and trans was still far from being accepted at the time, making this rally extremely dangerous for the marchers with the possibility of being identified and prosecuted. In response, many of them took to wearing masks or paper bags over their heads in order to remain anonymous as they stood in protest around the Boer War Memorial Monument in the core of Central Memorial Park. Organized by the Calgary Lesbian and Gay Political Action Guild (CLAGPAG), this event was the first step toward any future Pride Calgary celebrations and the establishment of Pride Calgary.

As LGBTQ2S+ people living today, our ability to exist authentically is thanks to generations of individuals fighting for our voices to be heard and our lives respected. “The first pride was a protest” is a phrase often repeated but rarely examined. Drawing upon a history of resistance and advocacy, Pride in Protest uses references to archival photography of gay rights protests of the 1960s and the complex history of liberation across time. Inspired by ACT UP AIDS activism, stonewall riots, the continued battles for the rights of trans youth, racial equality, LGBTQ2S+ liberation, and pro-choice movements evoke the spirit of resistance in which Pride celebrations are rooted. Using text sampled from archival photography and personal experience with protest, Pride in Protest digs directly into our intergenerational demand for liberation across time.

Such as with the powerful “Your Body Is a Battleground” text produced by feminist artist, Barbara Kruger for the Women's March on Washington in support of reproductive freedom. This message was developed by Kruger in 1989 and remains ever-present in its importance. Other texts such as “ Silence = Death” is a slogan used by ACT UP in the late 1980s in the fight for AIDS activism used as a rallying cry across time. These words transcend time and move beyond those who first spoke them, they travel throughout and speak to a battle that continues with us to this day. “I Wish I Could Tell You I Wasnt Afraid”, “ I’m So Angry I Made A Sign!”, “Black Trans Lives Matter”, and “Our Bodies, Our Mind, Our Power” are messages that remain poignant, truthful, challenging, and important throughout the past, present, and future.

These messages of resistance remain vital. We must carry these messages and apply them to our everyday life as we exist on the edge of losing all that we fight for. As Audre Lorde warns in her work, The Transformation of Silence Into Language And Action, “ Your Silence Will Not Protect You”.

Your voice is essential and eternally powerful to break the ropes of difference. Our voice is our survival.

Written by Ryan Danny Owen