Mattoon high school student, Aydin Tariq, and Uniting Pride of Champaign County will host a rally for Queer & Trans* Youth Autonomy at 5:30pm at the corner of 5th & John St. in Champaign on March 31.
UP Board and Staff jumped at the chance to work with Tariq in order to help local young people use their voice and reach within their network to help create the event which will feature youth leaders and other influential speakers with powerful stories.
This rally is in partnership with the nationwide movement “Queer Youth Assemble, an initiative to organize peaceful rallies in all 50 states to coincide with a march at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. The Central-Southern LGBTQ+ Autonomy Rally will allow LGBTQ+ young people to connect with each other, listen to powerful stories and speeches, and get the opportunity to have their own voices heard.
While the event is a youth-led and youth-focused movement, it is open to all LGBTQ+ people and allies who wish to attend and take part in the program.
“In a time where hateful rhetoric is dominating public perception, it is incredibly important for the future generation to show that we will not back down from the challenge of fighting for what’s right,” says Aydin Tariq, the high school activist involved in the planning of the event.
