October 2020: In representation of Pride month, St. Budidi wanted to extend our support to the most persecuted group of individuals throughout history. Regardless of the color of their skin, culture, or nationality - the LGBTQ community has never been granted equal representation on this earth - yet they selflessly stand in solidarity for all mitigated groups of individuals across the globe.
The product of systemic suppression can have dangerously volatile consequences. Sexuality has been the divine cause of division and hate, when the natural ability to love was only meant to heal.
We haven’t done as much to uplift this community as we would like, but our efforts to bring campus inclusive freedoms to John Jay College through our network of student council executive board members. Policies that aim to continue fighting for the rights of the Alphabet brigade: L’s G’s B’s T’s and Q’s all deserve representation that has been stripped by false religious narratives throughout the course of history. The subject we want to focus on is the mental health stability of individuals struggling with expressing their identity to the fullest form. Suicide is a common, sometimes promoted pathway for individuals struggling with their sexuality. For every life lost, allies lose a much needed soldier. It is a lifelong battle for some, and it ends with tragic torture for many. Both mentally and physically, members of the pride community are left lost without any help, wondering where to go in a world that treats them so cruelly. Understandably, difficult circumstances keep so many people from being happy just because society has been built on colonial values of conquesting vulnerable minority groups.
Important to note that the natives that are originally from this land celebrated those who were able to understand the perspectives of both masculinity and femininity; belief that the holy spirit proudly bolstered through those NOW categorized as LGBTQ. Before, it was all the same because none of it mattered. Loyalty to the tribe had nothing to do with sex, and everything to do with the values raised through community as a whole.
This was an ideological donation, and we acknowledge that the difficult circumstances of the pride community can’t progress freedoms at a consistent pace if we aren’t willing to fight with them. Just as any other oppressed group, St. Budidi and our championed allies will buckle up our bootstraps and fight this battle on the front lines. Through avocation, local policy implementation, and fierce dignity - we won’t stop until equality is blessed with equity. We believe in perseverance for all human lives, because we are ALL saints.