Lessons in Leadership from the LGBTQ+ Community
It’s Pride Month! It celebrates the long road that LGBTQ+ advocates and other community leaders have traveled to achieve equality. Unfortunately, it feels like we are taking steps backward in this journey.
First, what does Pride Month really stand for?
In a nutshell, Pride Month is a global celebration that began with Gay Pride Week in late June 1970. This was a public celebration marking the first anniversary of New York’s queer community standing up for and defending their rights in the face of a violent police raid at the city’s Stonewall Inn. At a time when LGBTQ+ people largely kept their identity or orientation quiet because of discrimination and prejudice, the June 28, 1969 raid sparked a series of protests and catalyzed the movement for LGBTQ+ rights.
Today, Pride Month consists of rainbow-laden parades and festivals to celebrate the progress the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement has made. It is meant to be a reminder of what the movement has achieved in 50+ years and bring the LGBTQ+ community and their allies, together at peaceful, acceptance-filled events. Sadly, despite the significant progress made by the LGBTQ+ movement, hate and bigotry still exist, including right here in Colorado. There is work we can all do to support the LGBTQ+ rights movement, as illustrated by the following statistics: not just in June, but in every month of the year.
More than half (54%) of transgender and nonbinary people feel unsafe walking in their own neighborhoods, compared to 36% of all LGBTQ adults, as well as in various environments, from work to social media, or in a typical store.
The last two years have been record-setting years for state legislation targeting LGBTQ adults and youth, with legislation that targeted healthcare, education, public places, and services, and drag performers or entertainment.
The Human Rights Campaign declared a state of emergency last year (2023) when the FBI reported hate crimes based on sexual and gender identity rose 33% over the last year .
The most recent Trevor Project survey found that 42% of LGBTQ youth, including more than half of transgender and nonbinary youth, seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year. And those rates are highest among BIPOC youth. Yet, nearly half could not access the mental health care they desired.
These sobering statistics highlight the challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community today, casting a shadow over this year's Pride celebrations. Pride events are about human rights; they empower LGBTQ+ individuals to reclaim the rights and freedoms they are denied, and the public spaces that they are often excluded from. Visibility is crucial, especially when states and opposition groups go to considerable lengths to put LGBTQ+ people at the margins of society. LGBTQ+ organizers continue to grow Pride events throughout the world despite the obstacles. There are lessons to be learned from the LGBTQ+ community and its perseverance to create equality. How will you choose to engage in Pride Month this year?