Conversations With Nicole
By Nicole Murray Ramirez
Editor’s note: The following is the keynote speech given by Nicole M. Ramirez in New York City at the historic Stonewall Inn, on June 27.
I bring you greetings from the oldest LGBTQA+ organization in North America, the International Imperial Court System, founded in 1965 by Empress 1 Jose Julio Sarria of San Francisco. Jose was a proud Latino and World War II veteran who in 1961 was the first openly LGBTQ candidate to run for public office and who last year was inducted into the California Hall of Fame by Gov. Gavin Newsom. There are now over 65 Court chapters in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and next year we will be celebrating our 60th anniversary.
The Imperial Courts proudly led the national letter-writing campaigns that not only resulted in the Harvey Milk U.S. postage stamp, but the United States Naval Ship (U.S.N.S.) Harvey Milk. We also proudly partner with the National LGBTQ Task Force and established this National LGBTQ Wall of Honor.
It is also important to note that we have established a Canadian National LGBTQ Wall of Honor, which was spearheaded by Emperor John Ribson and resides in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, at The Well Hamilton nightclub.
I also bring you official greetings from San Diego and our first elected mayor of color and a member of our LGBTQ community, the Hon. Todd Gloria, who is right now in China bringing back panda bears for our world-famous San Diego Zoo. Mayor Gloria was also last week elected as vice president of the United States Conference of Mayors.
Our California State Senate President Pro Tempore, the Hon. Toni Atkins, wanted me to also extend her greetings. We in California are working to make Toni Atkins our first elected woman and LGBTQ governor of California.
Many times I am asked why I wanted to establish this historic Wall of Honor and I say to all as I have for many decades: “A community, indeed a movement, that does not know where it came from or whose shoulders it stands on, does not really know where it is going.”
I want to acknowledge that this wall would not have happened without the strong support and love for their community by Kurt Kelly and Stacy Lentz of the Stonewall Inn, and the dedication and hard work of co-chairs Empress Coco LaChine of New York City, and Cathy Reena of the National LGBTQ Task Force and her hard-working staff.
I also want to also acknowledge Emperors Russell Roybal, John Carillo, Scott Seibert, members of the Imperial Court of New York, Emperor Jeffrey II, and King Father Terry Sidie.
My friends, as we stand here today, we have not seen our country as divided since the days of Lincoln, nor the future of its democracy as challenged since the days of Roosevelt.
We stand here today as our LGBTQ community has not seen such hate and campaigns against us since the days of Joe McCarthy and Anita Bryant.
The Human Rights Campaign last year declared that a “State of Emergency” exists in the LGBTQ America. Well, with all due respect to the HRC, I say to you that a “State of War” has been declared on us by the ultra-Radical Right. And our message to them by the hundreds of thousands who have been and are marching in the Pride Parades across this nation is simple: “Read my silicone lips: We are never ever going back into the closets.”
Yes, the ultra-Radical Right has indeed declared war on us. But we are not the only ones. And my main message to you today is that we must build stronger bridges and solidarity with other communities and causes under attack.
As I look upon this National LGBTQ Wall of Honor, I hear the voices of many of those trailblazers, pioneers, and heroes whose shoulders we stand on:
- I hear Donna Red Wing telling us to stand with a woman’s right to control her own body;
- I hear Bayard Rustin telling us to stand with the African American community as they try to suppress their vote and erase their history;
- I hear Sylvia Riveria and Marsha P. Johnson telling us that defending and standing with our transgender community must become a priority and is an obligation of all of us.
- I hear Harvey Milk telling us we must speak out against the rise of antisemitism and hate against the American Jewish community, not seen since the Holocaust;
- I hear Urvashi Vaid telling us we must stand against the rise of hate crimes against the Asian Pacific Islander community and, yes, the Muslim community as well.
- I hear today’s honoree Larry Baza telling us that we must stand for Dreamers, refugees, the undocumented now more than ever before;
- And I hear David Mixner telling us we must make gun control also our fight. And most important of all come November, we must come out of the closets and into the voting booths.
- And lastly, I hear Matthew Shepard telling us all to stop saying LGBTQ youth “are our future” because they are here and now. They must become our number one priority.
In closing, I say to you all that Pride must become more than just a parade and celebration. It must become a call for the renewal of our activism and resistance. Progressive America must wake up and know that the ultra-Radical Right has declared war on all of us. Only by working and supporting each other and starting to extend our hand to each other will history be on our side.
Thank you and God bless you all.
–Nicole Murray Ramirez is a lifelong Latino and LGBT activist and advocate, a longtime city commissioner, and is the Queen Mother of the International Imperial Court of the Americas. He can be reached at [email protected].
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