How to Celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride Month (And All Year Round)

Kayla Freeman is the Project Coordinator for the Homeowner Stability and LGBT Advocacy Projects. 

As we celebrate moments of jubilance and self-expression during LGBTQ+ Pride Month, we invite you to consider Pride’s significance in 2023 – and how you can contribute to making our community, workplace, and the world a more equitable and affirming place.  

What is Pride and Why Does it Still Matter Today? 

Pride is a celebration of, for, and by the LGBTQ+ community. The first Gay Pride Liberation March was a direct result of the Stonewall Riots following the NYPD’s raid of a gay bar in New York City in June 1969. Thousands of community members and allies marched to advocate for equal rights. Over the past 50 years, Pride has evolved as an important pillar of advocacy, protest, and celebration for the LGBTQ+ community. Our country has seen widespread rollbacks in protections for individuals who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community, including a flood of new state-level legislative attempts to ban discussions of Queer history and identity in educational settings, limit gender-affirming medical care, and condone discrimination in workplaces and schools. The unprecedented spike in anti-LGBTQ+ laws has resulted in the Human Rights Campaign declaring a National State of Emergency for LGBTQ+ Americans. 

How can you support? 

Our world faces numerous pressing and competing concerns that beg for our attention. When June ends and signs of colorful joy and celebration recede from the streets of New York City, we urge you to persist in self-education, and continue to advocate for the rights and protections of your LGBTQ+ brothers, sisters, and gender-nonconforming siblings.  

Not sure where to start? We’ve got you covered.  

Remain educated and find ways to support the LGBTQ+ community by connecting with fellow advocates and starting with the resources below:  

Allyship  

• Definitions of LGBTQ+ Concepts and Terms 
• Being an LGBTQ+ Ally 
• Out and Equal: Toolkits & Guides  
• How to Be an LGBTQ Ally at Work 

 Rights and advocacy 

• Discrimination and Barriers to Well-Being: The State of the LGBTQI+ Community in 2022 
• Overview of LGBTQ+ Rights 
• Stonewall Uprising  

 This author’s recommended reads 

• Tomorrow Will Be Different by Sarah McBride (2018) 
• Zami: A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde (1982) 
• STAR: Survival, Revolt, and Queer Antagonist Struggle by Sylvia Rivera & Marsha P. Johnson (2013)

 Learn on the go with these podcasts 

• History is Gay 
• Queery 
• LGBTQ&A

 Follow fellow advocates on social media: @alokvmenon, @raquel_willis, @juniormintt, @hrcgreaterny, @lgbtcenternyc, @hetrickmartin, @sageusa 

 Need legal assistance? 

 The LGBT Advocacy Project operates a free, confidential helpline in English and Spanish at 212.382.6759 where you can leave a message 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Calls will be screened and returned on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. 

 

This communication is for the general education and knowledge of our readers. Because all legal problems involve their own specific set of facts, this informational resource is not and should not be used as a substitute for independent legal advice. This informational resource also is not intended to create, and its receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Please contact competent, independent legal counsel for an assessment of your particular legal concerns, or contact our Legal Hotline (212.626.7383 or https://www.citybarjusticecenter.org/legal-hotline/) to determine whether you qualify for assistance from the City Bar Justice Center.