( ENSPIRE Community Spotlight ) Understanding LGBTQ through Educating Yourself on Topics and Fundamentals
ENSPIRE Contributor: LaShonda Thompson
The White House signed “A Proclamation on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Pride Month, 2021” on June 1st. The proclamation cites a historical event in the LGBTQ community that the world will never forget, The Stonewall Inn Uprising.
The Stonewall Inn uprising in June 1969 began a liberation movement, a call to action that motivates us to fulfill our nation’s promise of equality, liberty, and justice. On June 28th, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular LGBTQ+ bar in Greenwich Village, and rounded up gay men and trans women. With tension, violence occurred over a few days, and the world witnessed the riots over national media.
Fast forward to fifty years later, the Community still today faces a flurry of attacks on their rights. With the proclamation signed by President Biden, actions are being put in place to create overarching multi-agency priorities to improve the well-being of LGBTQ people. Those priorities include better healthcare – affordable, high-quality, nondiscriminatory health care services, and insurance benefits, to protect and strengthen the civil rights of the community and financial stability by fostering inclusive labor practices, to name a few. The proclamation is a step forward for the community, but there is still much-needed work.
To help with progression and to continue the conversation on LGBTQ, we must all do our part. Anyone can support the movement for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Understanding LGBTQ-related topics, including fundamental vocabulary and concepts, can assist you in educating yourself on LGBTQ-identified persons.
For more information on the Proclamation signed by President Biden, you can read it HERE.
