Key Milestones Since the Inception of Pride Month Celebrations

 

 

Pride month is one of the historical events that act as a bastion of hope for LGBTQ people and the people who fought to ensure that people like me and many others can feel seen and heard. It needs a recap and applause and, in this article, in a bid to foster acceptance, equality, and celebration of LGBTQ milestones, we could not look further than Pride Month, a month that is boldly unique for all and worthy of every celebration.

 

 

Why June?

 

 

 

June is special for pride month celebrations owing to that one June 1969 when police raided an LGBTQ gathering in a bar while roughing up, arresting, harassing, and creating chaos, leading to some 400 people engaging in rioting.

 

Also called the Stonewall riots, as they occurred in New York City’s Greenwich Village, commemorating how this June riot sparked the movement as a way to fight for LGBTQ rights makes it important for us.

 

A brief history of the Pride Month celebration

 

 

 

One hallmark of events that instigated the creation of Pride Month, even if not directly, is the Society for Human Rights in Chicago, titled itself the first gay organization ever documented in this history of Gay rights.

 

Prior to these riots, the preceding month of July had been hallmarked by ‘Annual reminders” that lesbians and gays were being subjected to denial of basic citizenship rights.

 

As a result, the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots made New York City the Epicenter of the fight for LGBTQ rights.

 

One year later, after the Stonewall Riots in 1969, Christopher ST. Liberation Day was created to commemorate the riots, and in the coming years, Pride month would be an event to celebrate and show up for the LGBTQ community.

 

7 Milestones achieved by the Pride Month celebration

 

 

 

Here are some of the important strides that the LGTQ community has achieved since the inceptions of Pride Month celebration

 

Legal Milestones

 

The legal milestones stemming from Pride Month include;

 

The Rise of LGBTQ Anti-Discrimination Laws

 

When the police raided that bar that one June 1969, one thing became clear to the Trans community: that the same law that protects everyone ought to protect us, not oppress us.

 

Today, while still taking a steady change, we can proudly use the law to protect our rights as the Trans population.

 

Various anti-discrimination laws in the workplace, healthcare, education, and the streets are milestones worth referring to and celebrating every Pride month.

 

Marriage Equality

 

Pride month has been crucial in ensuring that we attain marriage equality in the same way as everyone else while ensuring that discrimination and violence against Transgender individuals are kept at bay.

 

For instance, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders ensure that Trans Individuals have the right to marry whoever they deem fit.

 

Also, the Supreme Court legalizing same-sex marriage in June 2015 was the biggest win for us Transgender people.

 

Cultural Milestones

 

 

 

Cultural milestones are the achievements that enable positive norms and attitudes towards the LGBTQ community. They include;

 

Media Representation

 

Because of Pride Month, we can appreciate the strides that we have made in LGBTQ in music and art.

 

For instance, Rapper and singer Lil Nas X, who has never been shy about revealing his Trans identity, has earned nominations in three Grammy Awards categories giving more representation to Queer Grammy and Emmy Nominees.

 

LGBTQ representation in music and art as a driving force for popular culture helps us feel represented

 

Pride Parades and Festivals for Trans-Visual Support

 

If marching and parading during Pride Month is not the ultimate grand display of visual support for all LGBTQ members, then we do not know what is.

 

The yearly pride month of June, where we proudly wear our rainbow-themed symbols, helps us create solidarity with each other on our phone screens, in neighborhoods, and in online spaces where we feel visible.

 

Refusing to hide our desires, plight, joy, and overall identity during Pride Month is the mightiest display of visual support for solidarity.

 

Health Milestones

 

 

We have been able to achieve health milestones in the following ways;

 

Healthcare Changes

 

Trans Inclusivity in healthcare has been crucial in fostering change in the community.

 

For instance, gender-affirming clinics are present to help us navigate our transition.

 

Additionally, HIV/AIDS interventions, research treatment, and improving Trans quality of life have been strides worth celebrating.

 

Mental Health Advocacy

 

Pride Month has pioneered mental health advocacy through projects such as the Trevor Project, the LGBTQ Centers, and the Transgender Law Center, which have been integral in paving the way for support.

 

Mental health advocacy options, such as allowing space to voice our concerns and struggles, have been resourceful milestones in ensuring we live our truth.

 

Social Milestones

 

 

 

Social milestones include the community strides that Pride Month has made to foster acceptance and change.

 

LGTQ Community Engagement

 

Pride month teaches us the importance of community engagement and the subsequent effort to stand together as a plight that opposers threaten.

 

Today, more LGBTQ members and allies are determined to take a foothold and stance in defending and protecting our rights despite the harmful stereotypes, discriminatory laws, and harassment that we are bound to experience in the world.

 

Education Initiatives

 

Education initiatives that support inclusivity in the classroom are one of the tremendous social milestones as LGBTQ history is becoming a part of the curriculum as a way to support Trans children and youth.

 

Educative Initiatives such as Trans Student Educational Resources have been helpful in advocating for Trans classrooms and the environment for optimal learning for Transgender learners.

 

Economic Milestones

 

 

 

The economic milestones that Pride Month has fostered entail the following;

 

Corporate Progressiveness and Inclusion

Today, a Trans person boldly walks into an office and offers a competitive edge in hiring, promoting, and firing because most companies are willing to make progressive changes that include Trans people in the workplace.

 

Inclusive policies that deter discrimination and promote diversity are essential in ensuring corporations support Trans workers.

 

Trans Start-ups and empowerment

 

Today, many youths have fashion-owned businesses that they have begun from scratch owing to the support that Pride month continues to give us Trans individuals to live our best lives.

 

Trans individuals make up the largest group in the art and music scene, which lends credence to Pride month’s momentum in all of us.

 

The empowerment to be bold and begin a business venture or a project as a Trans man would not be possible if Pride Month did not present this visibility for us.

 

Political Milestones

 

 

 

Milestones that continue to shape the LGBTQ frame politically, include:

 

Political Representation

 

Today, the number of Transgender elected representatives has increased by 18%, and while we must remain underrepresented for a long time, this is a great stride.

 

For instance, the Rainbow Wave, an LGBTQ election group, recorded an increase in the number of LGBTQ political candidates, a high number in U.S Transgender representation.

 

Having a political landscape that includes Transgender representations means we have advocates who can support the LGBTQ plight.

 

Visible Equity

 

The rise of LGBTQ leadership in politics allows us to diversify the political landscape.

 

With more representation, we can create political empowerment where leaders, regardless of gender identity, are chosen based on leadership skills.

 

Because of this visible Equity, bills like the Equality Act continue to protect LGBTQ liberties and rights.

 

Global Milestones

 

 

 

Worldwide global achievements have been through;

 

Pride International Celebration

 

Looking at how international bodies such as the United Nations are taking a human rights stance to support LGBTQ individuals and our rights has been vital in helping us gain visibility and acceptance while driving the agenda of equality and inclusion for every society.

 

LGBTQ Olympians

 

Pride month in other parts of the world, such as in Tokyo, has led to the rise of the Rainbow Olympics and has recorded considerable progress in the number of LGBTQ competitors.

 

And in the words of Rainbow Olympic founder Cyd Zeigler, these LGBTQ competitors “didn’t just show up”, further adding that they performed outstandingly.

 

We all know why LGBTQ Olympics is a big deal and an achievement for us because we all know about the backlash about Transwomen performing in women’s sports.

 

What can we say? Our own ‘Rainbow Olympic’ category is a big deal and milestone for us.

 

People who sacrificed For Pride month 

 

 

 

We love appreciating those who fought for our Pride month, making it possible for us to uphold the flag proudly and brazenly. We remember;

 

Marsha P. Johnson

 

Marsha P. Johnson was a drag queen and explicit gay fighter who joined the fight in the 1960s, helping start the June 1969 Riot.

 

It is safe to say that without Johnson, we would not witness this turning point of gay and lesbian activism.

 

Moms Mabley

 

Marsha P. Johnson, a New Yorker, held the LGBTQ flag higher when she joined the Harlem’s Cotton Club, a club frequented by visitors to share her performance artistry with the African American community.

 

James Baldwin

 

When we think of Pride month, James Baldwin, an LGBTQ poet, lyricist, novelist, and social justice activist, we commemorate an activist who voiced his concerns about gay creativity and Freedom.

 

Baldwin’s active participation in the creation of artifacts, photos, and essays in the LGBTQ anthem forwarded the rise of the June protests.

 

Tracey “Africa” Norman

 

The first Trans model in America was among the first pioneers of Pride month when her presence in the model industry cemented the idea that Transgender people deserve a starship regardless of everything.

 

As a role model for the Queer community, Norman’s presence cannot be downplayed in contributing to LGTBQ gay rights.

 

Friedrich Wilhem Von steuben

 

We love a pioneer who, for the love of it, took his passion for supporting LGBTQ rights during Pride Month in 1969 while he was in the army.

 

His opinion of ‘open lifestyle choices’ indicates that Steubon’s success in promoting the LGBTQ stance is part of the American Revolutionary War which makes him the LGBTQ figure of Pride.

 

Harvey Milk

 

Hail Milk paved the way for the LGBTQ movement when he became the first openly gay to win public office in America.

 

Transcending all boundaries about being Trans, Milk openly opposed laws such as Proposition 6 (The Briggs Initiative), which asserted that it was mandatory to fire any public employee who openly advocated for gay rights. 

 

The lesson we learn from Pride Month history celebrations

 

 

We can learn the following lessons from the history of Pride Month celebrations.

 

Be a Champion of LGBTQ Rights

 

The main theme of Pride Month is the concept of ‘We’ in fostering awareness and understanding of what it means to be part of the LGBTQ community.

 

Because of Pride Month, we take the individual stance to stand up for LGBTQ history, struggle, and the subsequent accomplishments that we have made and those that our LGBTQ pioneers have made, weaving them into the fabric of our LGBTQ being.

 

In other words, we stand up for the LGBTQ cause, and during Pride Month, our presence alone reminds us of the championship in the community.

 

Normal May sometimes be too far-fetched

 

Looking at our historical figures who have fought for us Trans individuals and have been mocked or persecuted in the past such that we are able to stand here and take pride in who we are today makes us see the world in a different light.

 

The notion of what is ‘gender’ a woman’ ‘man, or ‘sexuality’ in terms of hetero-normative definitions are questionable because every pride month the large gatherings and parades continue to prove that these ‘normal definitions’ may not hold much water.

 

Conflict is a Normal Part of Advocating for LGBTQ Advocacy

 

Although we may not like to see blood-shed, harassment, and police brutality as we show up during pride month,

 

bearing in mind that other people may still not agree with the LGBTQ community and our plight is one way to see conflict as a stepping stone to solutions by fighting for our presence,

 

rights, plight, and overall humanity. Every angry speech to address Trans oppression, every placard that we raise,

 

every ink we use to write our stories reminds us that this is what the 1969 June riots took to give us our Trans rights today.

 

Shame is all in the Head

 

Do the work to unlearn all the unconscious biases about sex and gender even when it feels hard and even more so when it feels impossible.

 

We love meeting up and questioning our biases about sex, gender identity, gender norms, crossdressing, and finding new ways to embrace the underlying feelings of shame, guilt, obligation, fear, and hiding that come with being a minority group.

 

Because of June Pride Month, we are able to meet with many other trans individuals and change the narratives we have been taught that no longer serve us.

 

Youth roles in pushing for LGBTQ and crossdressers’ Rights

 

 

 

The Youth are responsible for pushing LGBTQ and crossdresser Rights by;

 

Permeating Digital Online Spaces

 

The Youth are tasked with the surmountable task of being in the Trans online digital space to increase LGBTQ representation in these modern spaces.

 

For instance, the number of Youth in online spaces such as Mother So Queer has risen, giving more exhibitions and full-length interviews to Trans members.

 

Also, more LGBTQ members in tech is just as important as the online spaces that we want to be part of in 2024 and beyond.

 

Have an open mind to oneself and view the world.

 

The Youth have the role of developing and activating our minds to be open about having hard discussions that the broader society might shy away from.

 

For instance, the stigma around gender reassignment is something that many others need to understand for what it entails, have empathy to sit and listen, which can change the world’s perception of us.

 

We are tasked with educating others about Trans biases and punitive stereotypes and having an open mind to others who may not understand our plight.

 

Representation

 

The Youth have the role of representing the LGBTQ community in a host of national spaces, including the sports, art, medicine, education sector, and community social work, so that we are visible enough for everyone.

 

Representation is the cornerstone to feeling heard and seen.

 

The Youth LGBTQ Voice for Expression

 

Pride month gives us the opportunity to take a stance not only for ourselves but for others who cannot for a host of reasons through self-expression.

 

Every pride month reminds us that we deserve to express ourselves, our struggles with transitioning, and our identity to the rest of the community, who may long for a shoulder to lean on and a community to count on as we share our experiences.

 

This voice for expression during pride month is one of the boldest steps we can make for ourselves and others.

 

Easy ways to celebrate Pride month

 

  

 

When we are uncertain about ways to celebrate Pride, we deploy the following creative insights. We;

 

Attend a Pride March Event

 

Pride month parades are common, from Toronto all the way to Tokyo, and consequently, we love to join popular festivals that occur in the months of June and July.

 

Joining these parades are a significant way to make friends and network in a bid to foster LGBTQ awareness and acceptance. We always check the pride events in our city so we do not miss any events we would like to join

 

Join Pride Allyship

 

We all have friends who want to support the LGBTQ cause but do not know where we start and that is where we invite them to Pride allyship.

 

In this case, we offer ways in which our friends can support us, either by rallying, parading, or marching with us. We all know the importance of a shoulder to lean on and the impact it can have on our Pride allyship.

 

Allyship is a personal way to support our friends, family, and many others who want to fight for the LGBTQ cause.

 

‘Design a Pride Shirt’ Contest

 

We love the little play activities and contests that come with Pride Month and designing and printing a pride t-shirt contest is one of the ways to add a little excitement to our pride participation.

 

We love designing T-shirts with Pride flag patterns, wording, and styles and the winner is always sure to be awarded for the tremendous creative outflow.

 

Volunteer and Donate

 

We love giving back to the community, and consequently, supporting local LGBTQ youth and community centers that raise money, resources, and charity that can support the pride cause is another way to celebrate Pride Month.

 

For instance, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation makes it easy for us to support and celebrate Pride Month while simultaneously helping us celebrate Pride Month in a different fashion.

 

Educate Ourselves

 

Education will never run out of fashion, and educating ourselves about LGBTQ history, plight, rights, and advocacy needs is an easy way to celebrate Pride Month.

 

Be it at the workplace or at home, learning how our homes and businesses are aligned with supporting LGBTQ causes helps us join Pride month with the conviction that, yes, we can.

 

Conclusion

 

 

 

At one point, June of 1969 was a sad day for many Trans individuals in that era.

 

However, today, every June, we can appreciate and hold the Pride Flag even more than we typically do every day because it was a turning point.

 

We love our brave pioneers, including Mabley and Baldwin, whose presence in Trans support cannot be downplayed.

 

As our pioneers did their part, our Trans Youth today are tasked with continuing to fight for our rights, visibility, and representation, drawing courage and strength from pride month, June, the boldest historic month.