June 28, 2019
Ms. Foundation for Women on the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising
Ms. Foundation for Women on the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising: “Let us celebrate the Stonewall Uprising as a reminder of the power we have to create change.”
Ms. Foundation for Women, one of the first and largest women’s funds in the United States, issues the following statement:
NEW YORK (June 28, 2019) – Ms. Foundation for Women President and CEO Teresa C. Younger released the following statement on the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising:
“Before the Ms. Foundation started, the voices of women of color and transwomen were leading the way and fighting for change. Today, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of those voices that led the Stonewall Uprising. Activists Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera have shown us what standing up and fighting back looks like.
“Stonewall’s legacy of resistance lives on today. As the Trump Administration constantly acts with impunity – openly encouraging discrimination and hate against trans folk in healthcare, housing, and military service – we continue the fight for the equality and liberation of queer and trans folks.”
“We celebrate and say the names of leaders like Johnson and Rivera, and we must also say the names of the lost leaders of the movement; women who just wanted to lead their lives and be their best authentic selves. Violence against the trans community is happening at epidemic rates, with at least eleven Black transwomen who have been fatally shot or violently murdered in just the last six months: Dana Martin, Jazzaline Ware, Ashanti Carmon, Claire Legato, Muhlaysia Booker, Michelle ‘Tamika’ Washington, Paris Cameron, Chynal Lindsey, Chanel Scurlock, Zoe Spears, Brooklyn Lindsey. This statistic does not include countless transwomen of color who have died in state custody – like Layleen Polanco, whose loved ones still seek answers following her death at Rikers in June, and Johana Medina Leon, a refugee from El Salvador who died after weeks of neglect in ICE custody in May.”
“While people are trying to silence the voices of the LGBTQ+ community, we must continue to lift them up and support the work being done on the ground. We look to the leaders, not just here in New York, but in communities nationwide like Detroit, New Orleans, and Atlanta, where the LGTBQ+ community puts their lives on the line every day.”
“In the face of these adversities, let us celebrate the Stonewall Uprising as a reminder of the power we have to create change. Let us honor the history of the movement our forebears started by ensuring that no one is left behind as we march toward justice. The Ms. Foundation and its grantee-partners are united in our fight to build a society where all members of the LGBTQ+ community are truly safe, free, and equal.”
Ms. Foundation spokespeople are available for interviews by phone or in-person from NYC. To schedule, please contact Sunshine Sachs at [email protected].
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For 45 years, the Ms. Foundation for Women has worked to build women’s collective power in the U.S. to advance equity and justice for all. The Ms. Foundation invests in, and strengthens the capacity of women led movements to advance meaningful social, cultural, and economic change in the lives of women. With equity and inclusion as the cornerstones of true democracy, the Ms. Foundation works to create a world in which the worth and dignity of every person are valued, and power and possibility are not limited by gender, race, class, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or age.