Celebrating Pride Month
June 15, 2022 | By: Adam Daicy, CSL Special Events Manager
June, a month of celebration, born through the struggles of continuously demanding change beginning with the Stonewall riots in 1969 to which set change in motion for the future of the LGBTQIA+ community. While PRIDE month is seen as being about love, acceptance and being proud of who you are, it has been a long road to get to where we are today, but there is still work to be done!
Seventeen years ago, I made the decision to be authentically and truthfully ME and come out as GAY! After being away at college for a year I began to find myself and become comfortable in who I really was. I returned home with the courage to finally come out to my family. Why was I so scared to share that with those who loved me the most? In the LGBTQIA+ community it is the constant fear of acceptance, disappointment and repercussions that could follow once you say the words “I’M GAY.” It takes courage to be true to yourself and put that over anyone else’s perceptions of you.
I will say I am fortunate; to have a family that was accepting and open to my lifestyle, many are not as fortunate and are turned away from their family or even forced out on the streets. Acceptance from family is the most powerful gift for someone when coming out.
I think back to when Ellen DeGeneres came out on her tv show back in 1994- the simple words “I’m Gay,” affected her career instantaneously by having her prime time tv show cancelled. From that struggle, she went on to overcome that by becoming the biggest daytime talk show host, spanning 19 seasons, speaking with 4,000 guests and earning 64 Daytime Emmy Awards. She has brought so much awareness and light to the LGBTQIA+ community with her platform spanning the last 20 years. She has become an inspiration to so many spreading kindness across the world and bringing awareness to the LGBTQIA+ community!
For myself when I look back at what it meant to be gay in society back in 2004 compared to now, I know we have made great strides in what we have changed over the last seventeen years. The changes that we have fought for are for the basic rights to feel equal in our society as an American, why should the LGBTQIA+ community be treated any less than equal and continue to fight to have the same equality? Though the LGBTQIA+ community is still facing inequities in this country, our trans brothers and sisters are still being killed, while businesses continue to fund anti-LGBTQIA+ politicians, yet are profiting off the same community they are making unequal. We need to demand change!
Milestones we have seen over the last decade of change through the continued fight in the LGBTQIA+ community.
May 2004: First legal same-sex marriage takes place in Massachusetts
September 2011: “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is repealed, ending a ban on gay men and lesbians from serving openly in the military.
May 2012: First sitting US president, Barack Obama publicly supports the freedom for LGBTQ couples to marry
June 2013: US Supreme court strikes down section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, ruling that legally married same-sex couples are entitled to federal benefits.
June 2017: District of Columbia residents can now choose a gender-neutral option on their driver’s license.
June 2020: Supreme court riled that federal law protects LGBTQ workers from discrimination.
January 2021: Joe Biden signed an executive order repealing the 2019 trump-era based ban on transgender Americans joining the military.
Adam Daicy (he/him)
As I look back at how PRIDE month has impacted my life, it gives me so much joy and happiness to see the support, love and acceptance that is shared during PRIDE month. I look forward to PRIDE every year because it just is so inspiring, invigorating and motivating to see the continued fight for change from our community and our allies along with the celebration of who we are! Our next generation is the future of our country, and they have a greater instilment of acceptance and demand for change that is needed for our community’s future!
At CSL, we continue to foster an environment focused on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion both internally and externally of those whom we serve in our community. We stand to continue to be inclusive for all of those in need no matter their gender, race, sexual orientation or how they identify.
Remember, we need to continue the conversation and actions long after PRIDE month ends to continue the fight in the LGBTQIA+ community to create a continued equality for all. We need to continue to stand up and let the LGBTQIA+ voices be heard to remind everyone that PRIDE is about more than just rainbows — it’s about radical change. Go out there and share the love this PRIDE month and continue to be the change we need!
