Openly queer Fil-Am councilwoman denounces attacks on LGBTQ community
Los Angeles City Councilmember Ysabel Jurado | FILE PHOTO
LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles City Councilmember Ysabel Jurado has denounced attacks against the LGBTQ community at a City Council event celebrating LGBTQ Pride Month, saying “hate has become louder.”
“This year’s theme, Building Community Through Collective Power, couldn’t be more timely,” said Jurado, who is openly queer. “Across the country, we’re witnessing coordinated attacks against the LGBT+ community, particularly trans youth and queer communities of color.
“These attacks are designed to silence us and divide us. Hate has become louder,” the Filipino American councilmember added. “Homophobia, transphobia and bigotry are being amplified from the highest levels of power, but Pride has always been a radical act of resistance, and today is no exception,”
Ahead of Sunday’s Los Angeles Pride Parade, the City Council celebrated Friday by unveiling a new Pride themed exhibit at City Hall, hosting a brief drag performance in the Council Chambers and then recognizing three nonprofits that uplift the LGBTQ+ community.
Drag performer ChiChi Charlas began Friday’s Council Chambers events by giving a minute-and-a-half lip-sync performance of Selana’s “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom” and Lipps Inc’s “Funkytown.”
City Councilwoman Traci Park — who led the council’s LGBTQ+ recognition the last two years — passed the torch to Jurado, a council newcomer, and Jurado welcomed the nonprofits Latino Equity Alliance (LEA), REACH LA and the Los Angeles LGBT Legal Service Center.
Jurado presented representatives from each of the three nonprofits with certificates.
Each council member also recognized one or two leaders in their respective districts who support the LGBTQ+ community and related causes.
Earlier in the morning, Park led a ribbon-cutting ceremony to unveil this year’s Bridge Gallery art exhibit, “Pride in Print: LGBTQ+ Lives Through Literature.” Joining Park was her honoree, The Rainbow Book Bus, as well as Jurado, Department of Cultural Affairs General Manager Daniel Tarica and City Librarian John Szabo.
At the center of the celebration was The Rainbow Book Bus, a rolling, rainbow-covered bookmobile that has traveled across the county, giving away more than 8,000 banned LGBTQ+ books to youth, parents, educators and community centers in states where access to queer stories are under attack.
Designed by queer artists India Torrez and Paco May, and transformed into a mobile technicolor library by trans architect Lucas Amador, the bus is both a cultural statement and a lifeline, according to Park’s office.
“When the Rainbow Book Bus pulls into a community, it’s not just handing out books — it’s delivering hope, dignity, and connection,” Park said in a statement. “In a time when books are being banned and identities erased, this mobile library affirms the right of every young person to be seen and heard.”
The Los Angeles Pride Parade and Pride Village are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Sunday.
