Advancing Equity and Inclusion for 2SLGBTQIA+ Communities
Founded in London, Ontario following the 2016 Pulse Nightclub tragedy, our non-profit is dedicated to empowering 2SLGBTQIA+ communities through advocacy, education, and collaboration.
We champion safety, challenge discrimination, and foster authentic connections.
Land Acknowledgement
Honouring the Land, Its Peoples, and Our Shared Responsibility
Why We March respectfully acknowledges that our organization operates on the traditional territories of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak, and Attawandaron peoples in what is now known as London and Middlesex County, Ontario.
We recognize the longstanding relationships Indigenous Peoples have maintained with these lands since time immemorial, including the agreements and responsibilities reflected in the Dish with One Spoon Covenant Wampum and the London Township Treaty of 1796.
We acknowledge the neighbouring sovereign Indigenous Nations: the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation, the Oneida Nation of the Thames, and the Munsee-Delaware Nation. We honour their histories, cultures, languages, resilience, and continuing contributions to our communities.
As an organization dedicated to advancing the rights, dignity, safety, and inclusion of 2SLGBTQIA+ people, we recognize that the struggles for Indigenous sovereignty, racial justice, gender equality, and queer liberation are interconnected.
We particularly honour Two-Spirit, Indigenous LGBTQIA+, and gender-diverse people whose identities, traditions, and leadership have endured despite generations of colonization, discrimination, and systemic oppression.
We acknowledge the ongoing impacts of colonialism, including residential schools, forced displacement, cultural erasure, and the continued inequities experienced by Indigenous communities.
We recognize that reconciliation requires more than words. It demands meaningful action, accountability, education, and lasting relationships built on respect.
Why We March commits to listening to Indigenous voices, supporting Indigenous-led initiatives, challenging colonial systems and discrimination, and creating spaces where Indigenous and Two-Spirit people are respected, included, and empowered.
Our commitment to human rights cannot be separated from our responsibility to acknowledge the land on which we work and the peoples who have cared for it across generations.
We acknowledge. We honour. We stand in solidarity. And we commit to action.
Because the pursuit of equality and justice must include everyone.
The Spark That Lit Our March
A Tribute to Pulse
On June 12, 2016, the world changed.
In the early hours of that morning, 49 lives were stolen, and countless others shattered, in a place that had always been a sanctuary—Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida. What was meant to be a celebration of love, joy, and identity became one of the deadliest mass shootings in modern U.S. history, and a stark reminder of the hatred still faced by the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
Pulse was more than a nightclub. It was a refuge. A space where queer people—especially queer people of colour—could dance, love, and live freely. That night, we lost not only lives but a sense of safety. But in the wake of that grief, something powerful began to rise.
Out of mourning, we found movement.
The horror of Pulse stirred something deep in our hearts. It reminded us that visibility is not just about celebration—it’s about survival. That pride must be protest. That our community must be louder, stronger, and more united than ever before. And so, Why We March was born—not just as a name, but as a call to action.
We march because Pulse was not the first attack—and it won’t be the last—unless we fight for change.
We march to honour the lives taken, the survivors, and all those who carry trauma in silence.
We march for queer spaces, for queer joy, for queer liberation.
Every step we take is for them.
Every banner we raise is in their memory.
Every chant we shout is a promise: that we will not go quietly.
The Pulse tragedy illuminated the pain that still exists in our world—but it also ignited the power within our community. It reminded us why we gather, why we organize, why we resist.
This is why we march.
In memory. In defiance. In love.