Saturday May 31, 2025 – Seattle’s LGBTQ+ Center Executive Director Nakita Venus spoke at the 13th Annual Pride flag raising over city hall. Here is their full speech:
“Hello everyone and thank you for being here, thank you to the LGBTQ+ commission for inviting me to share a few words with you all today.
My name is Nakita Venus, my pronouns are they/them and I am the proud descendant of immigrants and child of unionized nurses.
I am the Executive Director of Seattle’s LGBTQ+ Center. This year marks the Center’s 30 year anniversary. Our work began with grassroots organizers providing HIV testing at the height of the AIDS epidemic when our government would not. We have grown into what you see today, a community center and clinic providing over 13 programs dedicated to centering the needs of our most marginalized, namely our Trans Black and brown adults and youth. And we plan to keep doing so over the next 30 years.
It was not long ago when the Center had the opportunity to host the signing of an ordinance, stating that we were a welcoming city. Indicating to those who live here and those looking for refuge that we are a place that will fight for your rights to access gender affirming care and reproductive health care. That we will protect the health care workers doing their damndest to care for adults and youth in need of these services.
But we can not claim to be a welcoming city when the SPD harasses trans women for lawfully enjoying their day on a beach, we can’t make that claim when the city permits an anti-trans anti-abortion hate group in our city’s known LGBTQ+ neighborhood. It was clear last weekend, that the police only escalated the situation and protected the people who incite violence, directly placing our communities in harm’s way. We need to redistribute resources to community members and organizations who are trained in providing care, in decreasing harm, and de-escalation. Having community crisis responders is a start, but it does not work when you call for a welfare check and the police are the first or sometimes only ones to arrive.
I would now like to address those of us with privilege, with structural power, and those who have claimed to be our allies.
We need to intervene when we see and hear hateful reterics, at home at work or on the street. We have already seen how people feel emboldened in their hate by continued widespread political attacks on our queer and trans community and I fear how this may increase in that targeted hate as we are going into pride. So my question is, what are you, our elected officials, and us our community leaders going to do about it?
I would like to take a moment to address my community directly. As we are entering Pride I want everyone to know that your queerness is exquisite, your transness is a gift that deserves to be cherished and protected. There is euphoria to be found in our existence. It is our collective joy and care that has carried us through the decades long fight for liberation. Your health and wellbeing are important, your pleasure is important, you deserve rest, you deserve uninterrupted joy.
Let’s remember our history of organizing. Pride’s history is rooted in resistance and protest. Specifically anti-police violence protests lead by Black Trans women. We can not change the intentional systems of oppression by disregarding the safety and wisdom of our most vulnerable.
So with all that being said in the short amount of time I have with you, Fighting for 2SLGBTQ+ rights is fighting for immigrant rights, accessible and sustainable housing, it’s fighting for sex workers rights. Let us be loud in our pride for who we are, and our allies louder in their support.”
See video of all of the speakers on the Seattle Channel’s website.
