ENROLLED ORIGINAL
A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
June 1, 2021
To recognize and honor the LGBTQ communities of the District of Columbia and their ongoing
struggle for equity, to celebrate the efforts of the Capital Pride Alliance in coordinating
celebrations of Pride during an unprecedented public health emergency, and to welcome
people in and beyond the District of Columbia to join in the Alliances festivities
throughout the year.
WHEREAS, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and other
sexual- and gender-minority (LGBTQ+) individuals and communities have been an essential part
of the District of Columbia throughout its history, whether openly or covertly;
WHEREAS, the District of Columbia has a proportionally greater LGBTQ+ population
than any U.S. state;
WHEREAS, the District of Columbia has been the site of groundbreaking LGBTQ+
political organizing for many decades, and LGBTQ+ people have contributed immeasurably to
the social, political, cultural, intellectual, and economic advancement of the District;
WHEREAS, since the 1970s, LGBTQ+ people and their allies in the District of Columbia
have joined with LGBTQ+ communities across the United States in holding annual Pride events
in the month of June, to celebrate LGBTQ+ identities and cultures and insist on LGBTQ+
visibility and equity;
WHEREAS, in addition to their sociopolitical benefits, annual Pride festivities bring
numerous economic benefits to both LGBTQ+ and straight cisgender people and their businesses
in our region;
WHEREAS, since 2008, the Capital Pride Alliance has led the efforts to organize official
annual Pride festivities in the District of Columbia;
WHEREAS, LGBTQ+ people and communities continue to face violence, oppression,
and erasure, especially where their sexual orientations and gender identities intersect with other
marginalized identities;
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 ENROLLED ORIGINAL
WHEREAS, LGBTQ+ community leaders, both within the Capital Pride Alliance and in
the broader LGBTQ+ communities of the District of Columbia and surrounding region, have
made important strides toward ensuring that the needs and goals of Black, brown, transgender,
and other communities at greater likelihood of facing exceptional hardship in connection with
their LGBTQ+ identities are amplified in connection with Pride events, but the work continues;
WHEREAS, in 2020, among many sacrificies in the name of public health and safety
necessitated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Capital Pride Alliance and the people of
the District of Columbia found it necessary to forgo a full-scale parade, festival, and other
traditional Pride events;
WHEREAS, the Capital Pride Alliance has adapted to the ongoing emergency by
organizing novel Pride festivities for June 2021, including among other things a Paint the Town
Colorful campaign and a Colorful Pridemobile Parade, with additional modified events to follow
later in the year;
WHEREAS; the theme for Capital Pride 2020 and 2021 is #StillWe; and
WHEREAS, Capital Pride 2021 reflects the reflects the hard work, dedication, and
resilience of the Capital Pride Alliance, its sponsors, and hundreds of volunteers from across the
District and our region.
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
resolution may be cited as the Capital Pride Recognition Resolution of 2021.
Sec. 2. The Council of the District of Columbia recognizes and honors the Capital Pride
Alliance and all who contribute to the success of Capital Pride 2021.
Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately.
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