An Annual LGBTQ+ Pride Celebration
Every year, during the month of June, the LGBT community celebrates in a number of different ways. Across the globe, various events are held during this special month as a way of recognising the influence LGBT people have had around the world. Why was June chosen? Because it is when the Stonewall Riots took place, way back in 1969.
As well as being a month long celebration, Pride month is also an opportunity to peacefully protest and raise political awareness of current issues facing the community. Parades are a prominent feature of Pride month, and there are many street parties, community events, poetry readings, public speaking, street festivals and educational sessions all of which are covered by mainstream media and attracting millions of participants.
June is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month. This month-long celebration demonstrates how LGBTQ Americans have strengthened our country, by using their talent and creativity to help create awareness and goodwill. June 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of LGBTQ+ Pride traditions. The first Pride March in New York City was held on June 28, 1970, on the one year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising.
The legacy of LGBTQ individuals is being discovered by interested readers and seasoned researchers perusing unparalleled global collections. The acquisition of historic material and the ongoing program of copyright deposits will continue to enrich the Library’s holdings of LGBTQ materials.
The collections of the Library of Congress contain many books, posters, sound recordings, manuscripts and other material produced by, about and for the LGBTQ community. The contributions of this community are preserved as part of our nation’s history, and include noted artistic works, musical compositions and contemporary novels. The Library’s American collections range from the iconic poetry of Walt Whitman through the manuscripts of the founder of LGBTQ activism in Washington, D.C., Frank Kameny.
The Library of Congress is the largest single repository of world knowledge in a single place. In addition to having the mission of acquiring and preserving this exponentially growing body of knowledge, the Library is responsible for making all of its vast collection accessible to all.
The Safe Zone Project (SZP) is a free online resource providing curricula, activities, and other resources for educators facilitating Safe Zone trainings (sexuality, gender, and LGBTQ+ education sessions), and learners who are hoping to explore these concepts on their own. Co-created by Meg Bolger and Sam Killermann in 2013, the SZP has become the go-to resource for anyone looking to add some Safe Zone to their life.
Human Rights Campaign Foundation found that:
Stonewall Riots
The Stonewall Inn, a mob-owned gay bar in New York’s West Village, was an easy target for surprise raids in the late 1960s. Busts were common, riots were not, so when the police began making arrests in the early hours of June 28, 1969, no one expected resistance. But that night, the crowd erupted. People hurled insults, then coins, beer cans and bricks. Reinforcements rushed to the scene as Stonewall supporters poured out of neighboring dives to join the melee. Half destroyed, Stonewall reopened the following night. The rioters returned, singing protest songs, and so did the police, armed with tear gas. The clashes, which continued on Christopher Street for days, were barely covered in the news, but they altered the course of history.
The Stonewall riots electrified the nascent gay-liberation movement with urgent, ferocious energy during a time when homosexuality was illegal in 49 states and widely considered to be a mental disorder. Suddenly, what had been a nonviolent push for civil liberties became an uncompromising crusade. The protests catalyzed the formation of radical civil rights groups, in New York and across the United States. A year later, the first pride march set out from Stonewall, growing from several hundred people to several thousand as it moved up Sixth Avenue.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/27/t-magazine/stonewall-artists.html
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation, in partnership with Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) National, have released a comprehensive update of Coming Out as a Supporter.
The resource is intended to be a welcoming guide for supporters to build bridges of understanding when someone they know comes out to them as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer. The guide answers initial questions and shares facts, strategies, and ways to show your support as an ally in the fight for LGBTQ equality.
