June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month!
Pride Month is an annual recognition of LGBTQ+ culture and history that began with the Stonewall riots in 1969. Since then, Pride has become a global tribute to the struggles and triumphs of the queer community.
The leaders of the original queer liberation movement paved the way for the work of today’s LGBTQ+ advocates. While the cause has made great advancements since Stonewall, there is still much more work to do to ensure that people can live and love as their authentic selves. Issues still facing the community include gender affirming health care, parenting rights and protections of marriage equality.
As drag shows and LGBTQ+ books are under threat across the country and queer individuals are fighting for the right to be themselves, it's more crucial than ever for all of us to uplift and support the LGBTQ+ community. At IFEP, we celebrate Pride as a staple of free expression and stand in support of the LBGTQ+ individuals who have fought throughout history to express their culture and identity.
PRIDE IN OUR CITY
This year, we are keeping our Pride celebration close to home and recognizing queer history and culture in Pittsburgh! Throughout the month, we’ll be featuring notable members of Pittsburgh’s LGBTQ+ community on our social media accounts. Each week, we’ll explore a different facet of the incredible queer community here in Pittsburgh — trailblazers, businesses, creators and activists. We have Pride in our City and we’re not afraid to show it!
Pittsburgh has a rich and storied queer history. The first Pride march held in Pittsburgh was in 1973, 50 years ago. Pittsburgh has a diverse queer culture that is not limited to one area geographically, like many cities. Queer nightlife in Pittsburgh started through social clubs, many of which were founded by Robert “Lucky” Johns (one of our features this month). Those social clubs evolved and grew into a wide spread collection of bars and clubs, advocacy groups, performance spaces, safe spaces and other places where people can live as their authentic selves and find community in other LGBTQ+ yinzers.
This pride, celebrate the strength of the queer community, in Pittsburgh and beyond through festivities, advocacy and any way that spreads queer joy out into the world. Make sure to keep an eye on our social media to learn more and subscribe to emails on our website for some exciting new content and full interviews with our pride features.