Mayor Karen Bass Celebrates Pride with Stonewall Democratic Club at LA Pride Parade

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass rides along the LA Pride Parade route with political strategist Jasmyne Cannick as members of the Stonewall Democratic Club celebrate LGBTQ+ pride, visibility, and civic engagement in Hollywood. (Lila Brown/L.A. Sentinel)

Thousands of Angelenos lined the streets of Hollywood on June 14, as the annual LA Pride Parade brought together community leaders, advocates, entertainers, and elected officials in a celebration of LGBTQ+ pride, visibility, and inclusion. 

Among those participating was Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who joined members of the Stonewall Democratic Club along the parade route, riding with supporters and greeting attendees throughout the day. 

Joining the Stonewall delegation was legendary dance music icon Pepper MaShay, whose powerful vocals and enduring influence have made her a celebrated figure within LGBTQ+ communities worldwide. MaShay, a member of the Stonewall Democratic Club, said her participation reflected both her commitment to the community and support for Mayor Bass. 

Parade attendees enthusiastically welcome Mayor Karen Bass as she makes her way through the LA Pride Parade route, meeting residents, supporters, and visitors celebrating Pride Month. (Lila Brown/L.A. Sentinel)

 

“We’re right now promoting our Mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, who’s on her way and will be riding with our core group,” said MaShay who was joined on the parade truck with her wife.  

“I am involved politically under Democratic leadership, and it’s important for me to be here supporting our community.” 

MaShay also reflected on the historical significance behind the Stonewall name. 

“Stonewall is a term that was used after police stormed a gay club in New York and arrested members of the LGBTQ community,” she explained.  

“Our organization adopted the name Stonewall to represent the Democratic LGBTQ community here in California and beyond.” 

Legendary dance music artist Pepper MaShay and her wife celebrate love, community, and LGBTQ+ pride while participating in the 2026 LA Pride Parade alongside members of the Stonewall Democratic Club in Hollywood. (Lila Brown/L.A. Sentinel)

 

The Stonewall Democratic Club, founded in Los Angeles in 1975, is one of the nation’s oldest and most influential LGBTQ+ Democratic political organizations. The club has played a significant role in advancing LGBTQ+ representation, civic engagement, and public policy throughout California. 

Mayor Bass was joined on the parade vehicle by political strategist and community advocate Jasmyne Cannick, who has long been active in civic engagement efforts throughout Los Angeles. Together, they greeted spectators along the route, stopping periodically to meet supporters, take photographs, and thank community members for their continued involvement in local issues and civic life. 

Volunteers and campaign supporters joined Mayor Karen Bass along the LA Pride Parade route, greeting spectators and celebrating the diversity and resilience of Los Angeles’ LGBTQ+ community. (Lila Brown/L.A. Sentinel)

 

Throughout the parade, Mayor Bass emphasized the importance of protecting the rights and dignity of LGBTQ+ residents while celebrating the diversity that defines Los Angeles. 

The mayor’s participation underscored the city’s ongoing commitment to inclusion and equality, themes that resonated throughout the day’s festivities as parade participants, community organizations, businesses, and advocacy groups marched through the heart of Hollywood. 

Corporate volunteers and staff members celebrate alongside community members as they participate in LA Pride’s annual parade and festivities. (Lila Brown/L.A. Sentinel)

 

As music filled the streets and rainbow flags waved overhead, the event served as both a celebration and a reminder of the decades of activism that have shaped the LGBTQ+ rights movement—from the legacy of Stonewall to the continued work of organizations and leaders advocating for equality today. 

For many attendees, the presence of community leaders, elected officials, and cultural icons such as Pepper MaShay reflected the progress achieved while reaffirming the importance of continued visibility, representation, and civic participation.

 

Final Copy: PRESIDENT OF THE STONEWALL DEMOCRATIC CLUB STATEMENT ON DOLORES HUERTA’S DECISION TO SHARE HER TRUTH.

 

As President of the Stonewall Democratic Club, I speak with clarity, compassion, and conviction in response to Dolores Huerta’s decision to share her truth.

Dolores Huerta is a civil rights icon whose life has been defined by courage, sacrifice, and an unwavering commitment to justice. For decades, she has stood at the forefront of movements that demanded dignity for others. That she has come forward at the age of 92 to speak about experiencing sexual coercion and assault should not be met with suspicion. It should be met with respect, with care, and with a willingness to understand what it takes for a survivor to speak after a lifetime of silence.

When people ask why now, they are asking the wrong question. Survivors do not operate on a timeline that is convenient to the public. They speak when they can. They speak when it is safe enough. They speak when the cost of silence becomes greater than the cost of being doubted, dismissed, or attacked. And many never reach that point at all.

What is often missing from these conversations is a real understanding of what silence actually is. Silence is not simply the absence of speech. It is something that is carried. It is something that is endured. It is a survival strategy that allows people to continue living in environments where speaking would bring greater harm. It is shaped by fear, by power, by culture, and by the very real consequences that survivors know they may face if they come forward.

It is also shaped by something even more insidious. When survivors remain silent, they are often forced to carry a lie. The lie that nothing happened. The lie that they were responsible. The lie that they must protect others at their own expense. That burden does not stay contained. It seeps into every part of a person’s life. It distorts identity. It erodes self worth. It isolates. It exhausts. Over time, the weight of carrying that lie can begin to destroy a person from the inside out. This is the cost that is so often invisible to those who have never experienced it.

Dolores Huerta has spoken about not wanting to harm the farmworker movement. That statement alone reflects the impossible position she was placed in. Survivors are often forced into a calculation that no one should ever have to make. Do I protect myself, or do I protect something larger than myself. When the person who causes harm is powerful, revered, or central to a movement, the pressure to remain silent becomes overwhelming. That is not consent. That is not complicity. That is duress.

We must also acknowledge the cultural reality in which so many women came of age. There was a time when women were not taught that they had the right to say no in any meaningful way. Boundaries were dismissed. Harm was minimized. Men were excused. Women were expected to manage the situation, to avoid conflict, to protect reputations, and to carry the consequences of actions that were never theirs to begin with. These beliefs did not just disappear. They shaped generations of silence.

For those who have never experienced sexual violence or coercion, it can be difficult to comprehend the magnitude of what happens when a person’s power is taken from them by force, by manipulation, or by pressure. It is difficult to understand why someone would not speak immediately, or why they might wait years or decades. But difficulty understanding is not a justification for dismissal. It is a reason to listen more carefully and to approach these moments with humility.

For those who are survivors themselves, reactions can be complicated. Some recognize immediately the courage it takes to speak and feel a sense of solidarity. Others may find themselves asking why now, or questioning what has been gained by coming forward. Those responses often reflect the deep and lasting impact of trauma and the ways in which silence becomes internalized as a form of survival. There is no single way to process these experiences, but it is important to recognize that questioning a survivor’s timing often mirrors the same conditions that once made silence feel necessary.

We must also be honest about our own communities. Political spaces, including our own, are not immune to power, fear, and silence. There have been moments when individuals felt unable to speak out because of the influence of those involved, the fear of retaliation, or the risk of losing their place within a community they depended on. These dynamics are real, and they must be confronted if we are serious about accountability.

This moment does not call on us to demand proof from Dolores Huerta. It does not call on us to interrogate her timeline or question her motives. It calls on us to examine ourselves. It calls on us to ask how we respond when someone comes forward and says this happened to me. Do we listen. Do we create space for truth. Do we respond with dignity. Or do we retreat into skepticism because it is more comfortable.

False accusations are often raised in these conversations, but they are rare. Yet they are used repeatedly to cast doubt on survivors as a whole. When we allow that narrative to dominate, we reinforce the very conditions that keep people silent and force them to carry that destructive burden alone.

As President of the Stonewall Democratic Club, I want to be clear. We stand with Dolores Huerta. We believe her. We recognize the courage it takes to speak a truth that has been carried for decades. It is never too late to tell the truth. It is never too late to speak. And it is never too late to treat women with dignity.

We also reaffirm our responsibility to do better as a community. When someone comes forward, our role is not to interrogate. Our role is to listen. Our role is not to diminish. Our role is to respect. Our role is to ensure that we are building a culture where fewer people are ever forced into silence in the first place.

Because living authentically is not only about identity. It is about having the safety and the freedom to tell the truth of what has happened to you without fear that it will cost you everything.

That is the standard we must hold ourselves to. Now and always.

 

President,

Renay Grace Rodriguez, Esq.

 

LOS ANGELES DESERVES LEADERS WHO PROTECT OUR RIGHTS, NOT ONES WHO PLATFORM ANTI-LGBTQIA+ AND ANTI-ABORTION EXTREMISM.

 

WOMEN'S AND LGBTQIA+ GROUPS DENOUNCE CITY ATTORNEY HYDEE FELDSTEIN SOTO'S SUPPORT OF ANTI-LGBTQIA+, ANTI-ABORTION EXTREMIST FESTIVAL

This past weekend, Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto spoke at Hope Fest LA, a festival organized by the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) - an extremist religious movement that the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated as "the greatest threat to American democracy that most people have never heard of." The program included speeches by Trump-aligned NAR leader Che Ahn, encouraging the crowd to vote for anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQIA+ candidates, and Lou Engle, founder of anti-abortion ministry Bound 4 Life, and advocate for criminalization of homosexuality.

As proud women's and LGBTQIA+ groups, it is profoundly disappointing to see the sitting City Attorney in attendance-but it is even more alarming to see her take the stage as a featured speaker and openly praise the event. She called it a gathering rooted in "our commitment to doing good for our souls, for our hearts, and for the cause of justice. That is what Hope Fest is all about."

We do not see good or justice in the harmful rhetoric and agenda of Hope Fest or NAR. We are in a time of rising fascism, with the Trump Administration and aligned efforts aggressively targeting the rights and safety of our communities: stripping access to gender-affirming care, encouraging conversion therapy, eliminating LGBTQIA+ youth support on the suicide hotline, banning instruction on LGBTQIA+ issues and gender inequality, rescinding dozens of prior presidential orders protecting women, denying women the right to access abortion care, gutting vital federal health programs, and more. NAR lends its full backing to this Administration's infringement on human and civil rights, and targeting of our most vulnerable communities..

The City Attorney claims she is a pro-choice feminist and an ally to women and the LGBTQIA+ community, but her active participation in this festival demonstrates how deeply out of step with our values she is.

Los Angeles, and California, cannot afford leaders who are passive in this moment, let alone actively endorsing threats to the safety of our communities. We need leaders who will protect our rights, stand up against corporate and right-wing interests, and fight against Trump's authoritarian attacks.

To our LGBTQIA+ communities and women, we stand with you always. We call on sister organizations and partners to join us in rejecting the hateful, antidemocratic vision promoted at Hope Fest and denouncing the City Attorney for her participation in it.

Signed,