2026 NYC Pride Guide - Magazine - Page 22
continued from page 15.
Pride has always been rooted in
resistance. It was built by people who refused invisibility and
refused to accept violence as
inevitable.
The legacy of Marsha P. Johnson is not just something we
reference. It is something we
Continue.
“Direct action is part of our
DNA,” says Josh Tjaden. “From
the earliest days of Pride to
now, change has come from
people showing up and refusing to be ignored. We’re proud
of both our place in history and
the future for all of us in the
community.”
For Gays Against Guns, history is not separate from the
present. It is carried forward
through
protest, presence, and witness.
“Our ‘Human Being’; are part of
that lineage,” says Cathy Marino-Thomas. “They are a
form of protest, but also a form
of witness. We are saying these
lives mattered, and we
refuse to let them disappear.”
That witness extends beyond
the street.
“With Radio GAG, we’re creating space for conversation
that doesn’t always happen
elsewhere,” says Sarah Germain
Lilly. “It connects people to
the reality of gun violence and
to those working to change it.
Dialogue is part of action.”
Whether through direct action,
storytelling, or remembrance,
the throughline is the same.
Showing up matters. Being
visible matters. History moves
through those choices.
22
To you, what does liberation look like “for all
of us”?
Liberation looks like a world
where safety is not conditional.
Where communities no longer
live
with the constant threat of gun
violence, and fewer families
carry the weight of preventable
loss.
It also looks like something
immediate.
Being seen. Being remembered.
Being valued.
“When I stand as a Human Being, I think about the person I’m
there for,” says Kimberly
Miller. “I think about their life,
not just their death. And I hope
someone passing by feels
that too.”
There is a quiet exchange in
those moments. A recognition
that can shift perspective.
“It changes you,” adds Ti Cersley. “You realize how close all of
this is. These are people
who should still be here.”
Liberation is not only about
systems changing, though that
is essential. It is also about
what we
choose to see, to feel, and to
carry forward.
As we look to build a future “for all of us”,
why is it important that we look to our
history?
“For all of us” means building a
future where care, safety, and
dignity are shared. It means
refusing to accept loss as normal. And it means continuing
to show up, together, until that
reality
changes.
FOR ALL OF US
