Last weekend, thousands of people across the country and the globe participated in the Equality March, with hundreds of LGBTQ elected officials front and center.
These community leaders and champions of equality made their voices heard at the national march in Washington, D.C., and about 100 satellite marches from Milwaukee to Melbourne.
Some of the elected officials hosted Facebook Live videos on our Facebook page to discuss why they were marching and why LGBTQ representation is so important. Pennsylvania State Rep. Brian Sims, Michigan State Rep. Jeremy Moss and Atlanta City Councilman Alex Wan spoke to us from the D.C. march, and California State Sen. Toni Atkins sent us video from the San Diego march.
Marchers took to the streets in solidarity against a divisive political climate in which LGBTQ equality is at stake.
Colorado State Rep. Leslie Herod said she marched so her LGBTQ constituents would “no longer be made to feel invisible and pushed aside.”
“We can be anything — including elected leaders — and demand representation and an equal voice,” Herod said. “Today, tomorrow and every day — we will be seen, heard and respected.”
Victory Institute President and CEO Aisha Moodie-Mills wrote in an op-ed piece over the weekend that the LGBTQ elected officials on the forefront of this movement are the antidote to anti-equality efforts.
“As the posters come down and the chants fade, we need our future leaders to stand up and ensure their voices are heard,” Moodie-Mills wrote. “We need to encourage our LGBTQ friends and family to run for office and become the difference-makers our country desperately needs.”
Here are some photos from the national march in Washington, D.C.:
