News & Updates

BPDA Celebrates Pride Month

Jun 02, 2021

by: Barry Reaves, BPDA Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Pride Month is an occasion that brings the LGBTQ community together with their family, friends, and allies, to take pride in themselves and their many achievements.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month is celebrated annually in June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Riots, and the work to achieve equal justice and equal opportunity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ) Americans.

In June of 1969, patrons and supporters of the Stonewall Inn in New York City staged an uprising to resist the police harassment and persecution to which LGBTQ Americans were commonly subjected. Inspired to sustain that spirit of resistance, participants in the events of Stonewall planned a march to Central Park that following year to draw heightened attention to discriminatory laws and practices against LGBTQ Americans. Organizers of the event chose the theme of “Gay Pride” as a countervailing message to the predominant attitude of shame, sparking the beginnings of a transformative social movement. That first march down Christopher Street in New York City became an annual tradition that spread to other cities throughout the 1970s , and more recently, has expanded into today’s gigantic “Pride” street festivities, now celebrated on a global scale.

During Pride Month, it is not uncommon to see the rainbow flag being proudly displayed as a symbol for the LGBTQ rights movement. The rainbow flag is an international symbol for LGBTQ pride and can be seen flying proudly during both the promising times, and the difficult ones, all around the world.

Each stripe of the rainbow depicts one sector of the LGBTQ community and the queer spectrum. And while there are many versions of the Pride flag—there is a bisexual flag, pansexual flag, asexual flag, intersex flag, transgender flag, and gender-fluid flag, to name a few—the most commonly-seen Pride flag features six colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.

The six stripes in the rainbow flag of today each represent an idea that resonates with LGBTQ+ people: red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, blue for peace, and purple for spirit.

Pride is not just about the LGBTQ community; it’s about people coming together to celebrate equality, diversity, and acceptance. The LGBTQ community has written a proud chapter in this fundamentally American story by reminding us that integrity and respect remain cornerstones of our city and nation.

Diversity is more than race, gender, sexual orientation, and ethnicity - it means diversity of thought, ability, background, language, culture, and skill. Our nation was founded on the principle that the individual has infinite dignity and worth.

Their story is our story.

Please join us as the BPDA celebrates the richness of this community.

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