On Easter Sunday, April 9, 2023, the Los Angeles LGBT Center will team up with over 40 LGBTQ+ organizations, faith groups, queer and trans activists, and drag artists to mobilize against the tidal wave of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation across the U.S. with the all-ages Drag March LA.
The event will begin with a rally and kickoff performance at 11 a.m. at West Hollywood Park. Speakers include Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, West Hollywood Mayor Sepi Shyne, Los Angeles LGBT Center CEO Joe Hollendoner, and others, alongside performances by RuPaul’s Drag Race alums Kerri Colby and Honey Davenport. A resource fair will be on-site to connect attendees with local service providers and tips to activate legislative advocacy.
Los Angeles LGBT Center CEO Joe Hollendoner said, “The Center’s Drag March is a nod to the origins of the LGBTQ+ movement, when the very first demonstrations started in opposition to moral policing and anti-crossdressing laws designed to impose a singular ideal of gender and sexuality onto citizens. It is no mistake that today’s ‘Drag Bans’ are accompanied by a sweeping movement to ban access to gender-affirming care; we are fighting for our right to privacy, bodily autonomy, self-determination, and freedom of expression.”
In the first three months of 2023 alone, more than 400 pieces of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation were introduced or passed across the United States, most of them targeting transgender and gender nonconforming people. In response to growing rhetoric supported by the Christian Nationalist movement calling LGBTQ+ people ‘unsafe’ for families, Drag March will be held on Easter Sunday, and we will be accompanied by faith groups in solidarity and celebration.
In addition to the Center, the partner organizations for Drag March LA include: ACLU of Southern California, All Saints Los Angeles, API Equality-LA, Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, BAMN, Being Alive, Bienestar Human Services, CA LGBTQ Health and Human Services Network, CenterLink: The Community of LGBTQ Centers, Equality California, Found Family LA, Founders Metropolitan Community Church, Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, Gender Justice LA, Haven Hills, Hugo’s Restaurants, Lambda Legal, Latino Equality Alliance, LGBTQ Center Orange County, LGBTQ+ Community Center of the Desert, Nightshade, NMAC, ONE Archives Foundation, Pacific Oaks College, Peace Over Violence, ProjectQ, Queer Nation, REMHDCO, Radiant Health Centers, Rainbow Services, Ltd., Sacramento LGBT Community Center, SAGE, San Francisco AIDS Foundation, San Gabriel Valley Pride, Inc, SATRANG, Somos Familia Valle, The Abbey Food & Bar, The National LGBTQ Institute on Intimate Partner Violence, The Outwords Archive, The Source LGBT+ Center, The TransLatin@ Coalition, TransCanWork, among others.
Attendees are encouraged to RSVP at lalgbtcenter.org/dragmarch
