Considering recent events and the fact that Pride Month is just around the corner, we would like to take a moment and use our platform to address some things. Deadheadreviews.com runs on the values of equality, diversity, and inclusivity; “Pride in Horror Month” is a celebration of LGBTQ+ members of the Horror and Dark Fiction community.

At this time, we’d like to say a few words about the origins of the Pride movement and our support in endorsing the Black Lives Matter movement.

As recent as 1969, it was illegal for LGBTQ people to gather in public, and bars accommodating LGBTQ folks were frequently targeted by law enforcement. Homosexuality was still classified as a mental disorder; LGBTQ people were undergoing ECT and even being institutionalized for being openly gay.

On June 28th 1969, the night of the riot, the Stonewall Inn, a bar in the West Village, was busy with its usual clientele: LGBTQ folks and allies. Police knew the clientele and frequently saw fit to raid the bar on a regular basis. Police brutality during the raids was not uncommon.

The Stonewall Riot began as a backlash to the unwarranted and repeated bigoted police brutality. The people at the forefront of the riot, and notable LGBTQ activists for years to follow were Sylvia Rivera, a bisexual transgender woman of Puerto Rican and Venezuelan decent, and Marsha P. Johnson, a black transgender woman.

Without the courage of these women of colour, LGBTQ folks would not have the equality and rights we do today. These brave Black and Brown women led the charge into the fray, fighting tirelessly for equality, justice, and inclusion. Your rights exist because of them. Your out and proud gay community exists because they laid themselves in the line of fire so no one else had to suffer the same injustice.

We can thank Brown and Black women for the rights we have today in LGBTQ communities. We can thank them by doing our part to fight systemic racism, fight against TERFs, protect Civil Rights and equality, and break down barriers standing in the way of an inclusive society.

The first Pride was a riot. As we begin our incredible month-long celebration tomorrow, amidst all this unrest, please keep the bravery and action of these two women in mind. Support the LGBTQ+ Black and Brown folks out there protesting today. It is time for all of us step forward and do our part for your fellow humans and Black citizens. If you believe that the protests and riots of this last week are totally different, don’t need your attention, or won’t “do anything” — think again.

#BlackLivesMatter

How you can help from home:
- LISTEN!
- Highlight black authors in your BookTube videos and book reviews year round
- Highlight queer black and queer POC in your posts this month
- RT/Support Black owned Businesses & Artists & Authors
- Donate to bail funds & support threads
- DO share vids of Black activists speaking
- DO NOT share photos/videos of unmasked demonstration participants
- DO NOT share videos of Black people being murdered
- Ask people on the ground what they need or who you can signal boost

Yours Truly,
The Dead Head Reviews Admin Team