Dear Family, Allies & Friends!
No oppressed community rights the wrongs done to them without help from allies. In Congress, not a single woman was able to vote to give women the vote; it depended upon convincing a body of men to do so. And, while marginalized communities in this country today do not face such a national battle without any representation, we still need the support of others to help make our respective cases. And we do our best when we help each other along the road. Even when one community’s needs don’t seem to impact our own, inevitably they do because every move toward equal rights lifts all compassionate peoples and opens thought to be more inclusive.
The LGBTQ+ community organized in the 1950’s, almost two decades before the Stonewall Riots began on June 28, 1969. The riots were in part successful in starting a more visible movement because it was the first time that lesbians, gays, and transgender people united in a common cause, and allies began to emerge.
Marsha Johnson, a Black trans woman, is credited with getting things rolling…and that is how PRIDE celebrations began. In honor of Mx. Johnson, we offer a quick history lesson about what she started and a shout out to those who have stood with us and made possible our progress towards true equality in Oregon.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The March on Washington in August, 1963, had as its main organizer Bayard Rustin, a gay black man who was outed and ousted from the Fellowship of Reconciliation in 1953. Despite this, he became an advisor to Dr. King in 1956. Dr. King’s support was integral to Mr. Rustin’s ability to continue his work of justice through non-violence. All of us in this country and beyond our borders, have benefited from the work of both of these men in ways too many to count. Thank you, Dr. King, for seeing the value of the person rather than condemning him for whom he loved.
Closer to home, the first woman Governor of Oregon, Barbara Roberts, furthered the cause of women’s rights and lobbied the Legislature and won the right for all Oregonian children to receive a free public education, regardless of disability, even before she held public office. The Portland Gay Men’s Choir sang at her inauguration as Secretary of State in 1984, and she was an early and prominent champion for LGBTQ+ rights, more than a generation ahead of most of her political colleagues. Roberts worked for the right of all adults to marry, regardless of whom they loved. Governor, we humbly thank you for your foresight and decades of support and compassion.
And the fight continues today with Oregon State Senator Lew Frederick, whose collaboration with DPO LGBT Caucus Chair Joey Kerns in 2013 resulted in a bill to ban “conversion therapy” for minors that eventually became law in 2015. Oregon was only the third state to ban conversion therapy, and the Senator’s stewardship helped set a benchmark for 20 other states to soon follow, saving thousands of LGBTQ+ children and teens from the mental/emotional trauma that such “therapy” causes. Today, Senator Frederick, along with many of his colleagues, continues his work for the rights of all marginalized communities. Thank you, Senator, for your past and continuing work to protect our children and our families.
The Collective – in the 1990’s and early 2000’s, thousands of Oregonians came together to fight against oppressive and inflammatory anti-LGBTQ+ ballot measures. From Governor Roberts to the unheralded volunteers who knocked on strangers’ doors to talk about supporting us, we thank you.
The work of these straight allies and so many others is echoed in the everyday lives of Oregonians—true friends who know they don’t necessarily have to “get” marginalized communities to understand that we have a right to equity; these Oregonians help us lift our lives higher, and make living our best lives more attainable. We literally owe the freer lives that we have to you—the people who cared more about others than yourselves; who cared about DEIB–diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging—before it was fashionable.
In 2025 we, as Oregonians, have the opportunity to come together as allies by means of incredible intersectionality. Since the Dobb’s decision handed down by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) in 2022, the rights of all Americans have been impacted in ways that many thought impossible in this modern era. Women have lost the right to bodily autonomy. Unthinkable. But in this decision, Justice Thomas showed his true colors with regard to same-gender marriage, showing his hand with regard to his interest in the dissolution of marriage rights in our nation.
Currently, there are more than a handful of anti-same-sex marriage cases lining up in lower courts with intent to be heard by SCOTUS in the very near future. Americans stand to lose another right, that of marrying who we love. Unacceptable.
The intersectionality of which I speak is our coming together as allies. LGBTQ+ folks, women, men, our families and friends in an effort to pass the Equal Rights for All (ERA) Constitutional Amendment. This constitutional amendment will protect our basic rights to essential health care including abortion, contraception, and healthcare for transgender people as well as our right to love who we love and marry who we choose.
During this time when we all feel the need to participate in a substantial act of hope, this is our opportunity to band together and protect ourselves here at home in the State of Oregon. The Democratic Party of Oregon (DPO) has already adopted Resolution 2025-03: Regarding The Equal Rights for All Constitutional Ballot Measure of 2026 in support of this effort. Please join the DPO Stonewall Caucus in kicking off Pride Month by attending one of our virtual training meetings where anyone can learn to become a petition circulator. We ask that you join our efforts to collect 250,000 signatures in order to qualify this ballot measure for the November 2026 election. We will need the help of everyone to realize this goal.
These are our virtual kickoff training meeting links:
This Pride month, we are proud to salute all that have worked for and with us—every Oregonian who has struggled for equality under the law and justice in application of that law.
In Pride & Solidarity our beloved Siblings, Friends, and Allies,
DPO Stonewall Caucus Executive Committee:
Bret Cecil, Chair
Thomas Hiura, Vice Chair
Thomas Wrisley, Recording Secretary
Dakota Boulette, Communications Director
Rebecca Bradvica, Treasurer
Grant Herz, CATS Chapter Representative
Dane Zahner, Douglas County Chapter Representative
