All over the world, many cities and countries celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride in June. That’s when, 52 years ago, the Stonewall Riots happened in New York City, an event that marked the history in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights. Since the beginning, Pride celebration was rooted in protests against inequality and an unjust, patriarchal and heteronormative system.
The fight for LGBTQ+ rights – as the fight for social and racial justice, and gender equality – have a direct link with the climate movement. Marginalized communities are the ones who suffer the most from the climate and environmental crises, especially people of color and low-income communities. At Greenpeace, we are proud to be an inclusive organization that celebrates the diversity of our staff. We believe we can only have a green and peaceful future when there’s social justice for all.
Growing up and simply being an LGBTQ+ person can be a very different experience depending on where you live. But whether you are in a country where your rights are protected by law, or in a place where your life can be under threat, LGBTQ+ are proud to be able to always find community and support among each other. And at Greenpeace, we’re happy to be able to support the community and embrace what pride is all about: LOVE.
Since 2018, Greenpeace has been participating in Pride events around the world to show solidarity with the LGBTQ+ movement and promote the diversity of its people. Our first participation was at the Amsterdam Pride Parade in The Netherlands. People from 16 countries joined together to celebrate their LGBTQ+ pride and share messages of love and fun through our banners. Because it wouldn’t be a Greenpeace event without a banner, of course.
In the following year, we were happy to be able to participate in Pride events in countries where it’s more challenging to be openly part of the LGBT community, like Brazil. Even though the country is known worldwide for its big pride events in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, violence against LGBTQ+ people is still a major issue in the country, especially in smaller cities. According to Grupo Gay Bahia, an LGBTQ+ non-profit organization, an LGBTQ+ person is killed every 20 hours in the country.
To show solidarity with the movement, in 2019, the Greenpeace Brazil office participated in the pride parade of São João da Boa Vista, a 90-thousand people town in the state of São Paulo.
In 2019, we also participated in Mexico City’s Pride Parade. Mexico has recently been passing legislation to bring more equality to their LGBTQ+ community. In 2015 the country’s supreme court ruled that the country’s definition of marriage being only between a man and a woman was unconstitutional. Since then, more and more cities have been legalizing same-sex marriage in the country. In July 2019, a federal judge ruled that trans people should be able to change their names and identity on birth certificates through a simple administrative process instead of having to go through an extensive process through court.
Last year, even during the pandemic, the Greenpeace Taiwan team was able to join Taipei’s Pride Parade to show how we embrace diversity while raising awareness on the connection between environmental and social justice.
We’re going to keep showing up for Pride in the years to come and keep fighting alongside LGBTQ+ communities around the world because the green and just future we need includes everyone. Join us!
There are lots of ways to get involved with Greenpeace. Contact your local office to see if you can volunteer.
