Equality March and Rally for Unity and Pride

EQUALITY MARCH AND RALLY WILL BE THE GRAND FINALE AT THIS YEAR’S PRIDE PARADE ON JUNE 11

Women’s March Florida Keys Chapter to host Equality March and Rally for Unity and Pride on June 11. The Equality March will end at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church with an Equality Rally. Speakers include Stuart Milk (the nephew of Harvey Milk), County Commissioner Heather Carruthers, and others.

The Equality March for Unity and Pride is a grassroots movement taking place June 11 in more than 110 cities across the world, including Washington D.C., that will mobilize the diverse LGBTQ+ communities to peacefully and clearly address concerns about the current political landscape, and how it is contributing to the persecution and discrimination of LGBTQ+ individuals.

Progress has been made over the past decade in the ongoing fight for LGBTQ+ inclusion, access, and justice, but there’s still so much more to be done — especially since the progress we’ve achieved is currently being threatened by increased hostile rhetoric, discriminatory policies, and violence perpetrated against the most vulnerable in our communities.

We will use the Equality March, and sister events across the country, to give voice to our concerns, and to support, uplift, and bring attention to those in our communities who are targeted due to immigration status, ethnicity, religion, skin color, gender, and disability. We affirm and celebrate that we are a mix of diverse communities. Lack of unity has caused many of our needs to be neglected or ignored. But now, for 2017 and beyond, we are working to learn from our prior mistakes and come together through a common belief in inalienable human rights and dignity for all.

In Key West, the Equality March will begin immediately following the annual Pride Parade on June 11. All are invited to gather outside the Southernmost House at 1400 Duval at 4:30 p.m. The first 100 people will receive a free T-shirt. Participants are encouraged to bring signs, posters, flags, and friends!

Similar to other cities that are holding a Pride Parade and Equality March on the same day, the march will begin after the parade, immediately following the traditional rainbow flag banner that concludes the Pride Parade.

The march will end outside St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 401 Duval St., where we will hear Stuart Milk, County Commissioner Heather Carruthers, and others speak.

Stuart Milk is a global LGBTQ+ human rights activist and political speaker. The nephew of civil rights leader Harvey Milk, he is the co-founder of the Harvey Milk Foundation. A sought-after speaker, Stuart’s speaking events have included LGBTQ+ public speeches in Istanbul, Ankara, and Cairo; and public events in Central and Eastern Europe, Central American and South American cities, and in Asia and the Pacific Rim. In addition to twice giving the keynote addresses for International Congresses in the Netherlands, Milk has been a delegate on official sister city visitations or state visits to Sydney, Australia; Panama City; Panama; and Cape Town, South Africa. We are honored to welcome him to Key West!

Those watching or participating in the parade are invited to circle back around and join in as we march down Duval, standing strong together for LGBTQ+ equality, with a particular focus on those who have been actively silenced and neglected across the nation and the world!

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