“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.”

Those words, written over 30 years ago by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, remind us that indifference can never bridge the divide of hate. And, today, they should serve as a call to action to all of us, and to the Movement for LGBTQ equality.This spring has been a stark and stinging reminder that racism, and its strategic objective, white supremacy, is as defining a characteristic of the American experience as those ideals upon which we claim to hold our democracy — justice, equality, liberty.  

• We listened to the haunting pleas of George Floyd for the most basic of human needs — simply, breath — as a Minneapolis police officer kneeled with cruel indifference on his neck.
• We felt the pain of Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend as he called 9-1-1 after plainclothes Louisville police kicked down the door of their home and shot her eight times as she slept in her bed.
• We watched the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery by white vigilantes in Brunswick, GA, aware that they evaded the consequence of their actions until the video surfaced and sparked national outrage.
• We saw the weaponizing of race by a white woman who pantomimed fear in calling the police on Christian Cooper, a Black gay man bird-watching in Central Park.
• We have heard and read about the killings of transgender people -- Black transgender women in particular — with such regularity, it is no exaggeration to describe it as a epidemic of violence. This year alone, we have lost at least 12 members of our community: Dustin Parker, Neulisa Luciano Ruiz, Yampi Méndez Arocho, Monika Diamond, Lexi, Johanna Metzger, Serena Angelique Velázquez Ramos, Layla Pelaez Sánchez, Penélope Díaz Ramírez, Nina Pop, Helle Jae O’Regan, and Tony McDade.

All of these incidents are stark reminders of why we must speak out when hate, violence, and systemic racism claim — too often with impunity — Black Lives.The LGBTQ Movement’s work has earned significant victories in expanding the civil rights of LGBTQ people. But what good are civil rights without the freedom to enjoy them?Many of our organizations have made progress in adopting intersectionality as a core value and have committed to be more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. But this moment requires that we go further — that we make explicit commitments to embrace anti-racism and end white supremacy, not as necessary corollaries to our mission, but as integral to the objective of full equality for LGBTQ people.We, the undersigned, recognize we cannot remain neutral, nor will awareness substitute for action. The LGBTQ community knows about the work of resisting police brutality and violence. We celebrate June as Pride Month, because it commemorates, in part, our resisting police harassment and brutality at Stonewall in New York City, and earlier in California, when such violence was common and expected. We remember it as a breakthrough moment when we refused to accept humiliation and fear as the price of living fully, freely, and authentically. We understand what it means to rise up and push back against a culture that tells us we are less than, that our lives don't matter. Today, we join together again to say #BlackLivesMatter and commit ourselves to the action those words require.Affirmations, Dave Garcia, Executive DirectorAIDS Foundation of Chicago, Aisha N. Davis, Director of Policy American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Anthony D. Romero, Executive DirectorArkansas Transgender Equity Collaborative, Tonya Estell, Board of DirectorsCampaign for Southern Equality, Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, Executive DirectorCathedral Of Hope UCC, Rev. Dr. Neil G Thomas, Senior PastorCenter on Halsted, Modesto Valle, CEO Equality Arizona, Michael Soto, Executive DirectorEquality California, Rick Chavez Zbur, Executive Director Equality Delaware, Mark Purpura and Lisa Goodman, Board ChairsEquality Federation, Rebecca Isaacs, Executive DirectorEquality Florida, Nadine Smith, Executive DirectorEquality Illinois, Brian Johnson, CEOEquality New Mexico, Adrian N. Carver, Executive DirectorEquality New York, Amanda Babine, Executive DirectorEquality North Carolina, Kendra R Johnson, Executive DirectorEquality Ohio, Grant Stancliff, Communications DirectorEquality Texas, Ricardo Martinez, CEOFair Wisconsin, Megin McDonell, Executive DirectorFairness Campaign, Tamara Russell, Board MemberFamily Equality, Denise Brogan-Kator, Chief Policy OfficerFreedom for All Americans, Kasey Suffredini, CEO & National Campaign DirectorFreeState Justice, Mark Procopio, Executive DirectorGay City: Seattle's LGBTQ Center, Fred Swanson, Executive DirectorGay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), Kelsey Louie, CEOGeorgia Equality, Jeff Graham, Executive DirectorGLAAD, Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEOGLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), Janson Wu, Executive DirectorGLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Equality, Hector Vargas, Executive DirectorGLSEN, Eliza Byard, Executive DirectorGSAFE, Brian Juchems, Co-DirectorHuman Rights Campaign, Alphonso David, PresidentImmigration Equality, Aaron C. Morris, Executive Director Ingersoll Gender Center, Karter Booher, Executive DirectorLambda Legal, Kevin Jennings, CEOLGBT Community Center of the Desert, Mike Thompson, CEO LGBT Life Center, Stacie Walls, CEOLouisiana Trans Advocates, Peyton Rose Michelle, Director of OperationsMassachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, Tre'Andre Valentine, Executive DirectorMassEquality, Tanya V. Neslusan, Executive DirectorMovement Advancement Project, Ineke Mushovic, Executive DirectorNational Black Justice Coalition, David Johns, Executive DirectorNational Center for Lesbian Rights, Imani Rupert-Gordon, Executive DirectorNational Center for Transgender Equality, Mara Keisling, Executive Director National LGBTQ Task Force, Rea Carey, Executive DirectorNMAC, Paul Kawata, Executive DirectorOakland LGBTQ Community Center, Joe Hawkins, CEO  Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, Erin Uritus, CEO One Colorado, Daniel Ramos, Executive DirectorOne Iowa, Courtney Reyes, Executive Director OutFront Minnesota, Monica Meyer, Executive DirectorOutNebraska, Abbi Swatsworth, Executive DirectorPacific Center for Human Growth, Michelle Gonzalez, Executive DirectorPFLAG National, Brian K. Bond, Executive DirectorPRC, Brett Andrews, CEORainbow Community Center of Contra Costa County, Kiku Johnson, Executive Director Resource Center, Cece Cox, CEOSacramento LGBT Community Center, David Heitstuman, CEOSan Francisco Community Health Center, Lance Toma, CEOSF LGBT Center, Rebecca Rolfe, Executive Director  SAGE, Michael Adams, CEOSan Diego LGBT Community Center, Cara Dessert, CEO Silver State Equality, André C. Wade, State Director Tennessee Equality Project, Chris Sanders, Executive DirectorThe Diversity Center, Sharon E Papo, Executive DirectorThe Gala Pride and Diversity Center, Michelle Call, Executive Director The Lesbian, Gay Bisexual and Transgender Community Center, Glennda Testone, Executive DirectorThe LGBTQ Center, Long Beach, Porter Gilberg, Executive DirectorThe LGBTQ Center, NYC, Reg Calcagno, Senior Director of Government AffairsThe Trevor Project, Amit Paley, CEOTransgender Education Network of Texas (TENT), Emmett Schelling, Executive DirectorTransgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF), Andy Marra, Executive DirectorTransOhio, James Knapp, Chair & Executive DirectorUptown Gay & Lesbian Alliance (UGLA), Carl Matthes, President Wyoming Equality, Sara Burlingame, Executive Director