Supporting Our Trans and Queer Siblings
The Church Council of Greater Seattle unequivocally supports our trans and queer siblings and honors our inherent worthiness. Under the leadership of the first openly queer and trans Executive Directors, this is not simply a performative statement during a heightened moment in our city, or something we are offering at the start of Pride month; it is the lived, embodied reality of our leaders and the work that the Church Council continues to do.
Founded in 1919, the Church Council of Greater Seattle has acted as a direct service incubator, ecumenical convener, and faith-based advocacy and community organizing hub. Throughout this long history in Seattle, the Church Council has consistently supported our nation’s foundational principle of religious freedom. Religious freedom that allows faith communities to circumvent bureaucracy in the pursuit of their religious practice. Over the years, faith communities have embodied this freedom by providing space for tent encampments on their property despite neighborhood pushback; providing sanctuary to migrants facing deportation; even overturning state constitutional amendments preventing same-sex marriage. The flip side of this religious freedom is the dissemination of bad theology, that often kills and makes vulnerable many in our communities.
We recognize the city’s commitment to respect religious freedom, yet this rally could have taken place in a different part of the city. We are deeply disappointed by the mayor and city staff’s mismanagement which allowed the May 24 rally to take place in Cal Anderson Park - the beating heart of Seattle’s trans and queer neighborhood. We appreciate Mayor Harrell’s charge to the Parks Department to understand alternatives or other adjustments that could have been pursued. However, Mayor Harrell continues to claim a lack of knowledge about what is happening in the city he was elected to govern. This can no longer be an acceptable excuse from our elected leaders.
Many words have been spoken about the values of our city. Earlier this year, City Council in coordination with the mayor’s office and SPD, reinstated the use of less than lethal weapons against protestors. We are disgusted to see these harmful tactics used against counter-protestors. It is disingenuous to say that the city stands with trans and queer Seattleites while ignoring when police assault them. Mayor Harrell’s response is lacking a firm rootedness in the queer liberation movement, which is deeply tied to organizing and activism against the over-policing of and divestment from trans and queer communities of color. True solidarity with LGBTQ+ communities calls us to invest deeply with our resources, our relationships, and the policies of our governing bodies; not policing our communities.
Finally, there are a wide variety of individuals throughout Seattle and King County who care about their LGBTQ+ neighbors, and many who attended the counterprotest were LGBTQ+ folks themselves. People are rightly outraged that our city would allow such hatred to be spewed in our streets. Directing blame toward trans and queer community members as “infiltrators that inspired violence” misdirects accountability from city staff for the city’s mismanagement in this moment. This rhetoric compounds far-right talking points to delegitimize and criminalize those who put their bodies on the line for justice. In this moment, we need our elected leaders to show bold and prophetic leadership that supports and empowers those the federal administration is targeting.
Queer liberation is about so much more than acceptance and inclusion. Queer liberation is about funding community investments, not a militarized police force. About freeing the land. About a world without borders. About an end to war and genocide. About tangible financial investment and legal fortitude for trans and queer communities.
We believe in a vision of Seattle which prioritizes community care and investment over punishment. We will continue to leverage our collective power to hold the city’s elected leaders accountable as we make this so!