June Wallpaper of the Month

Just when I thought the world couldn’t have worsened after the past three months of an international pandemic, we find ourselves in June. Collectively revolted and activated by the senseless murdering of black men in America by those who are sworn and trained to protect them. The death of George Floyd reached us at a moment where we were all stuck at home, consuming more media than ever, and were able to see this man’s needless death with our own eyes. The public response has boomed, echoed, and multiplied into an unavoidable tsunami of broken, painful cries, demanding all people’s condemnation of systematic racism.

I typically remain silent about issues of systematic racism because I am no where near as eloquent, educated, or qualified as the leading voices behind these conversations. But not speaking out about this issue is a stance, and I will not be willfully ignorant to the murderous behavior of law enforcement. This incident and subsequent protest has forced a lot of people to confront their own assumptions about the police that has been maintained by their own privilege.

The communal grieving and anger of this moment intersects one of the most joyous months of the year, June. Pride month. This Pride, more than ever, is a time to remember that the first Pride was a riot led by queer people of color. If you don’t support Black Lives Matter today, you don’t celebrate Pride tomorrow. June’s wallpaper is my ode to black queerness, and the promise to listen, to believe, to love, and to protect.