Stronger Together Rally
June 11, 2017 – 11am – Boston Common
Enter at the corner of Charles St and Beacon St
THIS EVENT IS FREE BUT WE ASK THAT PARTICIPANTS GET A TICKET SO BOSTON PRIDE CAN ESTIMATE ATTENDANCE AND ADEQUATELY PREPARE FOR THE EVENT’S LOGISTICS.
Speaking Program
Confirmed speakers for the Stronger Together Rally (as of 6/9/2017):
- Mayor Martin Walsh, City of Boston
- Maura Healey, Mass. Attorney General
- Sen. Linda Dorcena Forry, Massachusetts Senate
- Rep. Elizabeth Malia, Massachusetts House of Representatives
- Ayanna Pressley, Boston City Councilor-at-Large
- Carmen Carrera, Trans Activist, Model and Actress
- Renee Manning, Trans Advocate
- Tyrek Lee, 1199 SEIU
- Jennifer Childs-Roshak, Planned Parenthood
- Gail Jackson-Blount, Mass. Women’s Political Caucus
- The Protest Choir
- Alejandra St. Guillen, Dir. of the Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Advancement
- Sam Chambers, LGBT Liaison for Mayor Walsh
- Marco Torres, Boston Pride Board Member
The Stronger Together Rally is organized in solidarity with the Global Equality March for Unity and Pride of Washington, DC. Boston Pride calls on all community members to mobilize to fight for equal rights, for everyone.
“After marching for LGBTQ rights during the Pride Parade on Saturday, we will rally on Sunday in solidarity with all communities that are being discriminated against. We will rally in solidarity with women, with Muslims, with immigrants, with people of color and with our trans and gender nonconforming community members. We will rally to energize our communities: this is a common fight for equality and respect,†said Sylvain Bruni, President of Boston Pride. “The first Boston Pride rally took place on Boston Common in 1971. Hosting the Stronger Together Rally 46 years later reminds us that while we have come a long way, we must always be vigilant in protecting the rights of all.â€
Solidarity rallies are being organized around the country and around the world on June 11, the day of the Global Equality March for Unity and Pride in Washington, DC. The speaking program in Boston will include grassroots organizers, LGBTQ activists and community leaders.
Value Statement
We hold the Boston Stronger Together Rally in solidarity with the “Equality March for Unity & Pride†and partner rallies across the country.
Our intent is to center and amplify the voices of those among us who have been historically silenced and oppressed.
Now, more than ever, it is important to stand together when so many marginalized communities,
including transgender people, Black folks, Latinx folks, and all communities of color, undocumented people, indigenous people, and Muslims are under attack and hard-won rights are being assaulted.
We believe that our liberation is bound together, and that our resiliency and rootedness in our own experiences, histories and cultures increase our capacity to deconstruct the institutional and cultural structures of oppression that marginalize and divide us.
Because we are stronger together, we believe in organizing as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual/Agender (LGBTQIA)+ people and allies, for transformative, intersectional justice, and collective liberation from our many oppressions in pursuit of a more humane and equitable future where all can thrive.
Our work will be guided and informed by our beliefs and commitments to:
• Raise, honor and incorporate the voices of marginalized peoples and communities into our decision-making process.
• Integrate intersectionality, equity, access and respect in organizational decision-making processes, day-to-day practices, and programming.
• The active and meaningful leadership of people across the Commonwealth who reflect the diverse groups within the LGBTQIA community.
• Build trust and foster open/authentic communication of diverse perspectives and realities.
• Actively challenge and dismantle systems of oppression through all aspects of our work.
This is a working plan that will likely grow and shift as we continue to engage with these values beyond the rally. If you share these values, we invite you to join us in fulfilling them.
In solidarity with the platform of the National Equality March for Unity & Pride, the Boston “Stronger Together Rally†will lift up and address the following issues and concerns:
Transphobia
Biphobia
Racial Justice
Income Inequality and economic justice
Immigration Justice
Indigenous / Two Spirit Justice
Islamophobia
Youth Rights
Youth Homelessness
Elder Rights
Disability Justice
Anti-LGBTQIA Violence
Intimate Partner Violence
Mental Health
Sexual Health
Reproductive Justice
HIV/AIDS
International LGBTQIA Justice
Faith and Spirituality