Pittsburgh Roots Pride Organizers Need & Deserve Community Support

These are my own thoughts, I cannot speak for Joy and Michael. In 2015, they stepped up to lead a resistance against corporatized, corrupt Pride defined by Iggy Azalea but grounded in much deeper problems in the regional LGBTQ community. Beyond resisting, they created a three year project, Roots Pride, celebrating and centering those typically […]

Pittsburgh Pridefest: The Resistance Years

  The roots of what we’ve come to know as Pridefest in Pittsburgh are, as with many cities, deeply embedded in LGBTQ culture and more as we moved from the multiple resistance efforts in the 1960’s to a nationwide demand for visibility and freedom. At no point was this more apparent than in June 2015 […]

Roots Pride Organizes Final Edition Weekend June 3 & 4

Roots Pride will host their final events this weekend to highlight the success of the past three years and the transformative power of resistance. We hope to see everybody that worked so hard to make Roots Pride a reality and all those who will carry on the legacy of standing up for queer and trans […]

New Pride Events in Pittsburgh Shake Up The Status Quo

A few years ago, a group known as Roots Pride stood up in a very public way against the structural racism embedded in the current incarnation of Pittsburgh Pridefest. With very limited resources, organizers coordinated community meetings, activities and events to celebrate the LGBTQ community of the region and the spirit of Stonewall – creating […]

Angela is a Queer Mother & Intersectional Feminist #AMPLIFY

Name: Angela Age: 28 County of Residence: Allegheny,  formerly Berks, Montgomery, Bucks in PA. Also lived in Rome, Italy, and the SF Bay Area of California Preferred Pronouns: she/her How do you describe your identity? I am a white cis woman. I am disabled by our society that allows people (mostly who are feminine) to remain chronically ill. I am […]

AMPLIFY Project, Blog Voted ‘Best GLBT Media Source’ in 2016 Reader’s Choice Awards

It is always nice when someone acknowledges your work, your vision or even just you. I’ve written in the past about my appreciate for the Keystone Alliance Gaylife Newsletter based in the Johnstown area. So I am pleased to be among the honorees in their 2016 Reader’s Choice Awards. What’s really exciting for me is […]

Sueno, 33, Adds Her Particular Color of the Rainbow to the #AMPLIFY Narrative

queer poc pittsburgh

  Name: Sueño Age: 33 County of Residence:  Allegheny Preferred Pronouns: She How do you describe your identity? Queer poc. I feel it encompasses the whole range of the “rainbow”, and doesn’t pin me into box. I used to identify as a lesbian, then felt like I had forsaken my whole identity when I developed real feelings for a […]

Sent to Facebook Jail for Anti-Racist Stance But I’ll Be Back

CN – quotes of racial slurs I woke up really late this morning. Ledcat is on vacation this week so built-in alarm clock is not working. 9 AM is too late for my comfort and I had a bad feeling as I rolled out of bed to face the day. Little did I know. I […]

Pittsburgh Pridefest – Part One

Pittsburgh Pridefest

More than a week has passed since Pittsburgh’s Pridefest and I’ve used a lot of that time to reflect on my experiences in what has been quite an atypical Pride experience. I’m going to share my thoughts in a four-part series, built around four distinct events – a face-to-face meeting with Pridefest organizers, a community […]

UPDATED Pittsburgh Designates Zones for LGBTQ Community To Protest , Gives 24 Hour Notice to Community Groups

Pittsburgh Pridefest

UPDATE Saturday: Since I wrote this at 11:30 PM Friday, the City has changed the policy about free speech zones and will not require people to use them. More here. I think Mayor Bill Peduto made a significant error in judgment this week regarding Pridefest by failing to disclose plans for “designated areas for protestors” […]