Happy Pride Month! As we wrap up Pride Month, it is an important reminder to celebrate and uplift the rights of LGBTQ+ people to be who they are and love who they love. While June is Pride Month, we can take action to support LGBTQ+ people not only in June but all year long!
Here are 4 ways you can take action this Pride that will carry you thought the year!
1. LEARN AND ACKNOWLEDGE THE BLACK + BROWN ORIGINS OF PRIDE
As we continue reckoning with racial inequity as a country, it’s especially important that we recognize and lift the voices of the Black and brown leaders who made the LGBTQ+ movement what it is today.
In 1969, patrons of a LGBTQ+ bar called the Stonewall Inn in New York City staged an uprising to resist a violent and discriminatory police raid, leading to the birth of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. The leaders of the action, known as the Stonewall Riots, were largely Black and brown people, including Marsha P. Johnson, (a Black transwoman), Stormé DeLarverie (a biracial lesbian), and Sylvia Rivera (a Latinx drag queen). The first Pride parade took place the following year in commemoration of the riots. This year marks the 50th anniversary of that first parade.
You can learn more about LGBTQ+ history here, and specifically more about Black leaders of the LGBTQ+ movement here.
2. PROMOTE AND PRACTICE RESPECT
- If you aren’t part of the LGBTQ+ community, you can still participate in Pride month, but it’s a good idea to listen and learn from those in the community to make sure you are being respectful. Check out these helpful tips for allies!
- Instagram has recently added a feature to include your pronouns in your bio! Sharing of pronouns helps those with trans and nonbinary identities feel safe, and normalizes asking about and sharing pronouns before assuming gender.
3. HELP ENFORCE LGBTQ+INCLUSIVE SEX ED
- The CA Healthy Youth Act (also known as CHYA or “Chaya”) was passed in 2016, and it requires public schools to teach comprehensive sex education, using LGTBQ+ inclusive language and including topics like sexual orientation, sexuality, gender identity, gender roles and gender stereotypes
- It is your RIGHT to receive this information as a California public or charter school student! If you are not getting this information, you can contact the ACLU and check out their action toolkit – they can help you make sure your school is providing comprehensive sex education and following the law.
- Learn more about other rights you have as a California youth to get sexual and reproductive health care.
4. FOLLOW LGBTQ+ ACTIVSITS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
- LGBTQ+ activists and influencers are great resources to make sure you keep informed of issues that impact queer communities.
- To start, check out some prominent LGBTQ+ activists on Instagram!
Want to learn more about sexual orientation, gender identity, and safer sex for LGBTQ+ people? Check out our LGBTQ+ pages on TeenSource!