Finding the Light

By Joslyn Hatfield 

Dear San Diego Pride Family,

The past few days have been emotionally heavy for many of us – filled with moments of anger, sadness, and fear. These feelings are valid and speak to the challenges we face as a community. The safety, security, and basic human rights of trans, intersex and nonbinary individuals are in genuine danger as the White House seeks to erase their existence. This is the truth. Another truth is that they have tried to break us before but we are unbreakable and will not disappear. Our community is not new to this. Even in the darkest of times, we find light in each other. And even in the darkest of times, we will never give up this fight.

The swift attacks that began on the first day of this new administration were no surprise.

• targeting trans, nonbinary, and intersex people – attempts to erase us, with implications for federal identity documents, incarcerated folks, federal resources and data collection, access to restrooms, and single-sex spaces
• targeting immigrants, immigration processes, militarizing the border region, attempts to end constitutional birthright citizenship, limiting refugee and asylum processes
• targeting all DEI initiatives, including a threat of targeting corporate DEI programs
• rescinding prior executive orders prohibiting nondiscrimination in employment
• targeting environmental protections and existing work on the climate crisis

A broad coalition of local and national LGBTQIA+ and allied organizations were ready for this, and are immediately working to challenge actions that threaten our basic human rights.

This onslaught is intended to dehumanize us and exhaust our resolve. To make us too afraid, too tired, too preoccupied to keep protecting our existing freedoms, and to keep us from fighting for our community’s total liberation. It is true that individually, we cannot fight these attacks. And it is also true that together – as a community and across movements – we can fight these attacks and we can win. Here is what San Diego Pride is going to do moving forward:

• Organize our most defiantly joyful pride parade, festival, and weeklong celebration yet. Join us in July 2025.
• Advocate with our local officials to enshrine and enhance protections and resources for LGBTQIA+ folks – especially for transgender, nonbinary, and intersex folks
• Create and invest in spaces for queer and trans joy like our upcoming ARTONOMY Winter Art Show
• Uplift and share resources from our partner organizations, like the Trans Legal Survival Guide from Advocates for Trans Equality

We together, hand in hand, remain steadfast in our truth and reality that we have always been here and we will always be here. And we remain unshakeable in our commitment that we will win. We will get to freedom. And we will take care of each other and ourselves as we go through these next four years and beyond.

In solidarity and unbreakable hope,

San Diego Pride