This will be the first time in years I will not be traveling to Washington, D.C., for Pride season. In 2023 and 2024, I had the honor of being invited to Number One Observatory Circle, the vice president's residence, when Kamala Harris hosted an intimate gathering of LGBTQ+ leaders. In retrospect, it feels like a fever dream: Sasha Colby, the RuPaul's Drag Race winner and transgender icon, hosting an event where it felt, astonishingly, like queer people finally had a place and voice in the halls of power.
That invitation has been rescinded. In 2025, I returned to D.C. for WorldPride, when international groups were issuing warnings that LGBTQ+ travelers, under this new administration, might be unsafe in America's capital. Listening to speakers and performers in the shadow of the Capitol Building, it felt as though we were less like invited guests and more like an invading force.
"We are singing and dancing right here on their front lawn, misbehaving. Yes, we are," headliner Jennifer Lopez proclaimed to the crowd at the music festival. It was resistance, yes, but also a depressing reminder of how quickly queer gains had evaporated.
At the time, my partner and I were also cautioned by our friends in Los Angeles, where we live, to be careful in D.C. Little did we realize that that same weekend would mark an escalation of ICE raids in the City of Angels, beginning a fearsome new chapter of federally directed attacks against immigrants and U.S. citizens who dared to stand up against the government.
It can be overwhelming and terrifying to process the speed with which many of us are now made to feel like strangers — and enemies — within our own country. While each morning's newspaper brings fresh horrors, I urge each of you not to give up hope. As Out's Pride cover star Colman Domingo tells us in our interview alongside his co-star from The Four Seasons, Marco Calvani, don't be overwhelmed. Focus on "the micro" of what you can achieve and change.
"These times are hard times, but we've always lived through hard times," says Domingo, adding, "You got to do your part during your generation in whatever way it is. But you have to take part. You cannot be passive.... You can make change wherever you are, and you can feel powerful doing it."
And we have already made change. This political administration took down the Pride flag at Stonewall. But we raised our voices, we protested, and the rainbow flag is once again waving in the West Village. We've lost heroes like Renée Good and Alex Pretti, but their sacrifices — and the collective courage of the good people of Minneapolis — helped dam the flood of ICE assaults on neighborhoods. In March, despite the risks, the "No Kings" demonstration became the largest single-day protest in U.S. history.
And amid all the attacks on media and the losses our industry has suffered, Out and The Advocate have once again delivered Pride issues to your doors. In this issue, you'll read the stories of LGBTQ+ people who are fighting, country line dancing, farming, staging spectacular burlesque shows, and making movies and music and stage productions that show that we are here, we are queer, and the world better damn well get used to it, because we're not going anywhere.
I want to wish you the happiest Pride, dear reader — and a joyous 250th anniversary to America. We are part of this country's past, present, and future. So, let's continue making history.
Sincerely,
Daniel Reynolds
Editor in Chief, Out and The Advocate
@dnlreynolds
This article is part of Out’s May-June 2026 print issue, which hits newsstands May 26. Support queer media and subscribe — or download the issue through Apple News+, Zinio, Nook, or PressReader.
Marco Calvani and Colman Domingo on the cover of Out magazine's May-June 2026 issue David Urbanke
