Pride Month 2023: Love me Tender, Love me Queer

2023 Theme: Love me Tender, Love me Queer

Tenderness is made possible by courage. We celebrate the softness needed for self-discovery, healing, and growth. The comfort found in community carries us through trauma. Our vulnerability is our strength.

We wear our scars proudly, but we are not defined by them. Hate can rear its head in the form of bullets or bills, but love reveals a path through tough times. When hope feels scarce, we turn to the open arms of our beloveds, we rest, and we remember that our fierceness cannot be contained by the shackles of bigotry. We are resilient, even though we should not have to be.

Progress is only possible because our elders have paved the way. The institutions of this settler-colonial state only acknowledged our humanity because fifty years ago, drag queens and sex workers threw bricks at cops. We celebrate the legacy of those who left us too early and give our roses to the living legends who are still here. Fifty years later, we reaffirm that there is no pride for some of us without justice for all of us.

In these halls of learning, we commit to the discomfort of unlearning our own ignorance. We must interrogate our own complicity in a system that leaves the queer and trans visionaries of our time struggling to pay rent. Only then can we begin to create the just future we deserve. We are united in the journey toward our shared liberation.

We shine bright. We treasure our soft, strong hearts. We are enough, and we are beautiful.

Full calendar of events available at stamp.umd.edu/pride.