Brooklyn Assemblywoman Haitian American Rodneyse Bichotte on Sunday marched in Manhattan with newly-elected Councilwoman Farah Louis, another Haitian American, and Mayor Bill DeBlasio and First Lady Chirlane McCray in celebrating the 2019 Pride March.
“As we come to a close of the celebration of Pride Month (June), let us remember what it took for us to get to this point and what it will continue for us to move forward in years to come,” said Bichotte, representative for the 42nd Assembly District, afterwards.
“A push for change in support for human rights is often hard fought,” she added. “We have seen this in the history of the LGBTQ movement of 50 years starting with the Stonewall Riots of 1969 in Greenwich Village, New York, where members of the LGBTQ community decided enough was enough.
“Love and acceptance on the basis of basic civil rights and respect is something we should all fight for,” Bichotte continued. “I congratulate and stand with all advocates of the LBGTQ movement in the fight for equity and social justice. “Let Pride be something we all celebrate!”
In his remarks at the Stonewall 50th Anniversary Commemoration Rally, de Blasio said he has “a tremendous special honor” in being the Mayor of the largest LGBT community on the face of the earth,” stating that he was “proud of that.”
“People are free to be themselves,” he said. “But wait – and this is where I’ve got to be serious for a moment with all of us – people have been free to be themselves, but now there are some who want to take us backwards, aren’t there? There are some that want to take us backwards.
“We see people trying to take away the rights of the LGBT community,” he added. “We see our trans brothers and sisters being excluded from our military, even though all they want to do is serve their nation. We see – and I hate to have to say this out loud, but I will – we see a white supremacy movement in this country.
“And I tell you, if you’re from the LGBT community, you should be afraid of that white supremacy movement. If you’re from the black community, you should be afraid of that white supremacy movement. If you’re from the Latino community, you should be afraid of that white supremacy movement – or the Asian community, or the Native community, or if you’re a woman, or if you’re a Jew, or if you’re a Muslim – because that white supremacy movement is trying to strip away all the progress we all have made together,” de Blasio said.
“But they didn’t remember one thing. They didn’t remember that that spirit of Stonewall is alive and well, and we are ready to fight back, aren’t we?” he said. “So, I want to say to everybody – in New York City, we have proven that when you give rights to more and people, everyone benefits. When you respect more and more people, the whole community gets stronger.”