I love you so, so much. Happy World Pride. Happy 50th Anniversary of Stonewall. This is a historic day. You should be so, so proud of yourself. I have thought a lot about what I wanted to say to all of you today. It’s been running through my head like a freight train. What is my intention? How can I inspire you? How can I inspire you the way that you’ve inspired me? How could I possibly portray my love for you? And the truth is, after a lot of thought, I came to this. Wow. Look around you. Look at what you have done. You deserve a round of applause. It makes me cry. I’m so emotional today. This community has fought and continued to fight a war of acceptance, a war of tolerance, and the most relentless bravery. You are the definition of courage. Do you know that? I feel so honored and privileged to even be asked to be here.
I feel that privilege and that honor because today what it truly is, is this is a celebration of all of you in every single way. Four million people in New York City to celebrate their pride. I may not to some people, some people, I may not even be considered a part of this community even though I like girls sometimes. I would never degrade the fight you have all endured, the adversity that you have all been through to truly be seen, to be heard, or the struggles that you’ve been through to love yourselves and to seek that love from other people. But, honestly, I really, really love you. You are strong. You are so strong. You welcomed me into your community in the most beautiful of ways that I will never forget. My whole life changed because of you. I’m trembling speaking to you. You’re making me nervous.
The universe brought us together in the spirit of kindness. And we together, we’re a powerhouse. And I hope, I really, really hope you celebrate every inch of who you are today. You were born this way and you’re super strong.
My mom’s here today. [‘Cynthia!] My Dad [Joe!]
I’m a New Yorker. The Germanottas are out in full force. We’re all here for you. And I thank you, mom, for running the Born This Way Foundation. I look at the older generation and how you have fought to create a safe, more tolerant space for our youth. It used to be unheard of to even come out of the closet or be expected in any way to declare who you are. But now, children at very young ages are saying, “Mommy or daddy, I’m gay. I’m a lesbian. Mommy or daddy, I’m Bi.” They’re saying, “Mommy or daddy. I’m not a girl. I’m a boy.” They’re saying, “I’m not a boy. I’m a girl.” They are telling their friends how to identify and speak to them. Many but not all, of course, are aware of their ability to discover and name their own sexual identities, their own gender identity, gender identities. They are finding themselves and they’re not as afraid, and you did that. You created that space.
So I have one question for you, are you ready? What is your pronoun? How do you prefer that I address you? You deserve to be addressed as you feel comfortable, respected, and loved. I could refer to you as the LGBTQ Plus Community, but then I would be missing so many people in between. I will continue to fight every day during shows, even when I’m not on stage, to spread a message that’s actually quite simple, be kind. And guess what? That kindness, it belongs to you and it always has belonged to you. Even when the world was not kind, it belonged to you. All the galaxies, stars, and even God, for me, I know, I know it all had your back. So today, and I hope every day, dance. Sing. Rejoice. Worship yourself, worship each other. Thank you, [inaudible 00:09:00] and Stonewall for producing this amazing tribute. Isn’t this amazing?
To the brave souls who came before us, Marsha P Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, Harvey Milk, Audre Lord, and igniting the fight for all of us. It is said those who threw the first brick on that historic night were members of the trans community, and while we have made tremendous progress, we find ourselves also at a time where attacks on the trans community are on an increasing rise each day. I will not tolerate this. And guess what? I know neither will you. That distance, that distance between us and them, those who are not listening and who do not understand, that is the space for an important dialogue as a community and how we’ve all move forward together to change the system of an extremely oppressive administration.
And I know that you will not stop. You will never give up. And I know that because I’ve watched you closely for over a decade and I know that. You don’t back down. You don’t shrink into shame, although there are days sometimes that we all feel that way. Be bold and embrace the Stonewall legacy. Love each other, raise your voice and, my gosh, vote. Don’t forget to vote. If we keep injecting the world with this message of unity and passion, imagine where we’ll be in another 50 years from today. I will still be alive and I will still be here, if you’ll have me. I will always be there for you. We are real, real friends now. And I love you. I really love you. This is your freedom. This is your joy that you have deserved always. I will not stop in pursuit of this liberation. I wish to see no more homeless youth from this community.
I denounce ostracizing people for who they are. I wish for there to be mental health provided around the country to teach people the importance of kindness and passion. Every race, every religion, every color, every age, there must be five generations here today, every kind, you are it. You have the power and you are so, so powerful. And I hope you feel that power today. You are the ultimate power and you have never been so visible in the world and that beautiful light and that rainbow is shining all around you. Stand in it, basket, allow yourself to glow on it as we grow up. Just take that spotlight that belongs to you. This, this is my mothership. And you are my leaders and I will follow you. And I surrender, I surrender to all hatred, because you know what? I will kill it with kindness. True love, true, true love is when you would take a bullet for someone and you know that I would take a bullet for you any day of the week. Thank you again. I truly, truly love you and thank you for inviting me. I feel so blessed. Go celebrate yourselves.
Happy Pride.
All Speeches Great and Small