June 2021

June 2021 marks 157 years since the liberation of African Americans in Texas, also known as Juneteenth, and 52 years since the Stonewall uprising. We recognize both as milestones in a long, painful, bloody struggle for the civil rights and liberation of Black people and LGBTQIA people in the United States. Of course, some people are both Black and LGBTQIA. Some people are Black, LGBTQIA, and incarcerated - or they carry the stigmatizing record of criminal justice involvement. In this country, liberation movements have intersected, run in parallel, and inspired and given power to each other. No brief statement can give the complexities justice. Juneteenth and Stonewall are opportunities for us to celebrate their collective resistance to oppression and movement towards equity and freedom.

In the aftermath of slavery, Juneteenth signified a freer life and world within reach, one in which African Americans would be able to “reunify families, establish schools, run for political office, and even push radical legislation.” Conversely, it also signified delayed justice and equity for Black people that endure today. The end of slavery did not equate to justice for Black people. Jim Crow, lynchings, economic racism, police violence, and the Tulsa Massacre would push African Americans to respond with sustained efforts to free themselves. These liberation efforts gave birth to the Civil Rights Movement.


The rights won through these movements were rooted in an unmovable commitment to equity, justice, and recognition of the many ways in which we are all connected. Last Sunday, June 13th, thousands of people gathered in Brooklyn to call for an end to the violence imposed on transgender adults and youth, and to rally for the rights of transgender and gender-nonconforming youth. Only a few months in, 2021 is proving to be a record-breaking year for anti-trans legislation to curb the rights of Trans people in the United States. We are also witnessing a cornucopia of efforts and laws in some jurisdictions designed to deny people of color the right to vote. In this context, we are called to come together to acknowledge the deep connection between the struggle for LGBTQIA freedom and Black trans rights and the movement against systemic racism and police brutality. Opal Lee, 94, activist and former teacher who has been working to raise awareness of Juneteenth for many years sums it up: “none of us are free until we are all free and, heaven knows, we are not free yet.”

As we observe Juneteenth and Pride this month, we honor the work of those who encourage us to work together to bring about our collective liberation, and who inspired Osborne’s new mission statement that commits us to “challenge systems rooted in racism and retribution and fight for policies and practices that promote true safety, justice and liberation.” I also honor the Osborne staff who give their time and effort to our Race Equity Core Team and our LGBTQIA Committee -- and especially those engaged with both of these teams -- whose commitment to promoting “true safety, justice and liberation” has demanded that we not only challenge external systems, but also start with ourselves.