05/17/2026
In commemoration of the many declarations by the World Health Organization and many others that our orientations and identities are not a disease, your Fourth City Sisters join in the call to honor International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia. No matter what stigma, guilt, or trauma you may have endured or may be enduring, we cannot declare this with enough clarity- your diversity is what makes our planet so beautiful. So let our words ring like the many church bells over our great city of St Louis...you are not a disease. You are not sick. You are beautiful and powerful and your journey into discovering who you are is worth celebrating joyfully.
To those who fear that journey and turn their fear into hate, we hope for their healing and peace. One day, maybe they to can discover who they are without having to bully and demean others in the process. Only then will our country be the land of the free and the home of the brave... the brave who stand up for the rights of every citizen regardless of their identity.