QUEER South Dakota (Queers United for Empowerment and Equal Rights) would like to thank the community at large and allies for the support over the past two years of our activity. QSD was originally formed as a means to combat crisis response for LGBTQ+ individuals living within the state border and surrounding areas. As evident with the passing of Terri Bruce (may he rest in peace) the need is ever growing. QSD has assisted in various cases of youth homelessness, council to parents with LGBTQ+ teens, abandonment, and so on. QSD also wanted to be a means to combat injustice with demonstrations. We co-hosted the Women’s March, held various protests, and decorated the presidential statues with red scarves in honor of World AIDS Day. Bringing queer history and art to our community members was another important vision to us. We contributed to the Rapid City drag scene in holding a weekend event celebrating the art form. With regard to history, we brought the Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson to Rapid City to highlight an LGBTQ+ trailblazer from years past. We expressed the need for respect to intersectionality and squelching the festering beds of racism within our own ranks. We thank you for your help in conveying these messages, showing up to our events, sharing our contact information, and being vigilant in such dire times.

We honor and respect the various statewide LGBTQ+ entities in South Dakota and know that they will continue to grow the web of advocacy. We would also like to thank these organizations for the love and support during our development.

We hope that others will hold true to the QSD vision of direct action, no matter how uncomfortable challenging the status quo may be.

QUEER South Dakota will be renamed, will bear a new focus, and have a new board of directors. Stay tuned to our Facebook (facebook.com/queersd) page as the details become more finite. Meanwhile, QSD services (website, phone number, etc) will be suspended. However, the Facebook page will be active for referrals. We will assist within our reach. We apologize for any inconvenience.

With love and hope, we will shine.