On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the NoMoreDownLow.TV team followed the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and allies group of participants in the 2011 Kingdom Day Parade in Los Angeles.
This was the third consecutive year that the Barbara Jordan/ Bayard Rustin Coalition, The Here to Stay Coalition, Black Lesbians United, In the Meantime Men’s Group, At the Beach Los Angeles Black Pride, and over 50 same gender-loving/LGBT activists marched down Crenshaw and King Blvd. to promote acceptance, visibility, dialogue and community-building as a strategy to fight homophobia and promote more awareness of Black LGBT issues within the Black community.
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“This is a historic time for our country and the Black LGBT community has to ensure that our issues are not being forgotten amidst the statewide and national climate,” said Rodney Nickens Jr. Field Organizer for the Jordan/Rustin Coalition. “Some will question what purpose the MLK March serves for the Black LGBT community in Los Angeles, but I think now more than ever, it is important that we come together in solidarity and present a united front to ourselves and to the world. It is only going to be through coming together during difficult times that we can begin to have difficult conversations.”
In response to this year’s parade theme, “Working Together We Can Make the Dream Come True”, Here To Stay coalition partner Yardenna Aaron adds, “We as Black LGBTQIs are Here to Stay. We’re walking together in the MLK parade in our community because we are a living, loving and vibrant part of both the Black and LGBTQI communities. We are here to celebrate the beauty of both again for the 3rd year.”
Check out our photos from the Kingdom Day parade here.
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