hell yes to this acceptance speech from Qween Jean, who just became the first openly trans person to ever win a Tony
"We are here for the legacy of queer people. Trans people, we have to take up space. We have to shift the paradigm...the world right now is deeply, deeply combating so many ailments, and we know as a society that when we come together we can make real, permanent change."
Qween won Best Costume Design for a Musical for Cats: The Jellicle Ball
NEW YORK FUCKING CITY!!!!!!!!! MAMDANI!!!!! BAGELS!!!!! BACON EGG N CHEESE!!!! BROOKLYN!!!!! THE BRONX!!!!! HARLEM!!!!!!! QUEENS!!!!!! BIGGIE!!!! TIMBS!!!! HALAL CART. BODEGA CATS. JAYWALKING. PIZZA!!!!! FUCK ERIC ADAMS!!!! WE ARE THE GREATEST CITY IN AMERICA!!!!!!
It would take far more than a month to honor the contributions of queer and transgender New Yorkers.
From the Cercle Hermaphroditos in 1895, the first trans advocacy group in the United States, to the drag balls of the Harlem Renaissance, to the Stonewall uprising, to the Lesbian Herstory Archives, to ACT UP!, founded in 1987 as queer people fought for their lives while the Reagan administration looked away, New York City's history has long been shaped by queer and trans New Yorkers.
To all our queer and trans neighbors: you deserve a City where you can afford to live safely, openly, and joyfully.
Happy Pride, New York City.