Every year around this time I try to post this picture taken by Joseph Ambrosini of the New York Daily News appearing in the paper as the fist photograph published of the beginning of the Stonewall Riots and it documents homeless LGBTQ youth fighting back against police brutality. I also always keep a print copy of this picture up in my office where I write and look at it daily to remind myself about the legacy of homeless queer youth.
As much as some would like to pretend otherwise, LGBTQ youth homelessness is not new. When you go to pride this year, please take a moment to think about the bravery and strength of the homeless LGBTQ youth that birthed our “modern LGBTQ rights movement.” In their honor and legacy we must not abandon the youth of today. It is our responsibility to listen to them, fund programs that provide direct services, and partner with youth as together we work towards equality for all LGBTQ people.
It is essential that we never forget where all of our advances in equality have come from, and that we not leave the memory and descendants of those who gave so much behind.