After the killing of George Floyd, we are living in a watershed moment where an upheaval of institutionalized racism is taking place. Broken systems are beginning to be reformed. Mentalities are changing and people of color are finally being given more respect and access to equal rights which have historically not been extended to them.

But this is only the beginning.

Fire Island Pines must embrace the movement, be part of the change and become a strong ally to our LGBTQ+ black and brown siblings.

The first symbolic step we ask from the community of Fire Island Pines is to give a long deserved tribute to the person who was one of the very first and most prominent figures of the gay liberation movement and undoubtedly the most emblematic one, Marsha P. Johnson.

While spearheading the upheaval and fight for queer rights, Marsha was rejected by many white gay activists because of who she was and was calling herself: a black transvestite. The word “transgender,” which describes people whose gender identity does not correspond to their sex assigned at birth, was not in use at the time. She often referred to herself as a woman and only used female pronouns.

Let us rename the Harbor Park of Fire island Pines the MARSHA P. JOHNSON PARK, so that anyone arriving to the Pines from the mainland will be given a powerful reminder of why they are able to live and love freely in 2020.

Fire Island Pines owes this small but highly meaningful gesture for the following four reasons:

1. To the people of color for their courageous fight for freedom which paved the path for our gay rights and liberation movement. We cannot forget that the Gay Liberation Movement was inspired by the Black Freedom Movement.
2. To our Black LGBTQ+ siblings who often suffer prejudice, discrimination and racism, often from within our own LGBTQ+ community.
3. To the trans women and men who are still denied the level of acceptance and support that the rest of the LGB community experiences.
4. Finally, but most importantly, to the trans women and men of color who are constant victims of harassment, violence and killings. They deserve our utmost respect and love, starting with Marsha P. Johnson and her friend Sylvia Rivera. These women fought for all of us and their legacy needs to be honored, especially in communities where mass amounts of privilege are freely on display, like Fire Island Pines.

In February 2020, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo renamed the East River State Park in Brooklyn the Marsha P. Johnson Park. It is time to do the same in Fire Island Pines. 

The varying generations of LGBTQ+ people who step foot in Fire Island Pines to celebrate their pride must be aware of not only Marsha's name and her legacy, but that there is still a fight today we need to be waging. Like Marsha famously said, "No pride for some of us without liberation for all of us."

Become part of this movement and add your name to our petition for the community of Fire island Pines to rename Harbor Park in honor of Marsha P. Johnson.

Thank you.

Love,

Iman Le Caire