With recent events that have affected us with violence and suspicion against our communities which has been the case in the colonial history of these occupied territories of the Coast Salish peoples including the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil Waututh, we will march together in solidarity with Two-Spirit, Trans, Intersex, Bisexual and Queers of Colour in Pride on the day Vancouver Pride used to be, the day after the Powell Street Festival.

With these recent events, we have seen the rise of blackphobia and Islamophobia with our Two-Spirit, Trans, Intersex and bisexual people of colour communities. We will gather at Victory Square Park on Monday August 1st at 1 pm, then march down Pender St. through Chinatown toMain Street and then to Crab Park where we will have a healing circle. We ask our allies to help us in solidarity with marshalling and security.

Recently City Council invited the different Queer Organizations to meet to talk about how to respond to Orlando. But the Queer of Colour organizations were not invited. Then the Mayor met with Black Lives Matter, but again the rest of the Queers of Colour organizations were not invited. Queer Muslims and Latinx Queers were profoundly affected by the events of Orlando, yet we have been forgotten in this process.We met with Pride organizers after the Vigil they had organized at the Vancouver Art Gallery and suggested that we need to have some sort of an inclusive healing ceremony at Pride. But Pride too has forgotten us in this process.

Now Vancouver Police Department has announced that we will be participating in the Pride Parade. We also want to announce that many of us will not be participating in the Pride Parade in solidarity with Black Lives Matter. We will be participating in the Trans, Gender Queer and Two-Spirit March on Friday July 29th, the Dyke March on Saturday July 30th and we will have our own Two-Spirit, Queers, Trans, Intersex and Bisexual People of Colour on Monday August 1st.