By DANAE SWEET
Hyannis
June here in western Nebraska is usually filled with green rolling hills, the first real thunderstorms of the season, a tornado or two, and along with the rest of the United States; rainbows. Rainbows can be found on shirts and caps, in store windows, and all over social media with messages of Pride Month.
What I wanted to share is why Pride Month exists in the first place. I will give the short version but I encourage you to do some research on your own. In short, Pride Month was established to commemorate the Stonewall Riots in New York that occurred in June of 1969. In the 1950s and 1960s it was very uncommon for business owners to allow gay people in their establishments. Police at that time often raided establishments that catered to the LGBTQIA+ community. Marsha P. Johnson, a black transgender woman, is attributed to throwing the first punch at a police officer during that raid on June 28 at the Stonewall Inn. An uprising of the LGBTQIA+ local community was the catalyst for change along with the civil rights movement. Miss Johnson was responsible for founding the Gay Liberation Front and co-founded the activist group Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries. (Note: it is no longer appropriate to use the term transvestite, transgender is the correct term)
Today we honor those that fought for equality, those that continue to fight, and for the younger generation so that they can live in a country with true equal rights. You will see Pride Parades in larger cities with brightly colored costumes and floats. In our smaller areas like western Nebraska there are a handful of Pride Celebration events with food venders, education booths, music, and dancing. Why the rainbow though?
An artist and Army medic named Gilbert Baker created the first gay pride flag that is commonly displayed. He wanted to create a symbol to unite the community and to encourage pride rather than the shame that society had and has continued to push upon members of the LGBTQIA+ community. The colors each represent something special. Red means life, orange is healing, yellow is the sun, green is nature, blue is serenity, and purple is the spirit. Since then, the flag has been modified and updated to reflect the change and evolution of society and it’s labels.
Some of you reading might still be asking, why does this have to be a public spectacle? I’ll give you a few reasons that I feel are incredibly sobering. Crimes against US citizens that are LGBTQIA+ are increasing yearly. Transgender women and men are being murdered simply for being themselves. As with any subject that is misunderstood, the only solution is education and shining a light on the subject so that it is never forgotten. The latest statistics from the FBI are from 2019 and comes from their Hate Crime division. When I was researching this to share, I had to take a break to just cry. The amount of citizens that are subjected to violence for simply existing is heartbreaking.
In 2019, 1,429 people were subjected to a violent crime due to their sexual orientation. An example of sexual orientation is being gay or lesbian. This means that these people were beaten up, raped, robbed, and other horrific acts for being who they are. I think of my own child and how I worry about her being a woman on her own in the world today. Then I think of that statistic and it turns my stomach to think someone might hurt her because of her sexual orientation. In the same year, 227 US citizens were a victim of violence due to their gender identity. Some examples of gender identity are cis gender (the male and female genders), genderfluid, transgender, or non-binary. These people were harmed or killed due to their gender only. These aren’t people committing crimes, these are people just existing and enduring violence for being themselves.
There are staggering numbers of suicides due to bullying and families disowning their children that come out as LGBTQIA+ here in the United States. According to the Trevor Project, “..youth are almost five times as likely to have attempted suicide compared to heterosexual youth”. Also on the same website, “In a national study, 40% of transgender adults reported having made a suicide attempt. 92% of these individuals reported having attempted suicide before the age of 25.” This is why we need Pride Month, so that people can feel accepted, supported, and valued. Pride Month exists because people die due to hate and fear. The cure for hate and fear is education, awareness, and love.
If you would like to learn more about gender identities, sexual orientations, and how to support your LGBTQIA+ friends, loved ones, and community you can contact Panhandle Equality at (866) 985-8755 or go to their website at www.panhandleequality.org. You can also seek support and knowledge from OutNebraska at (402) 488-1130 or
http://outnebraska.org/. Another amazing resource is The Trevor Project, which provides support to the youth, by phone at 1-866-488-7386 https://www.thetrevorproject.org/
Citations:
FBI UCR Program (2019) Hate Crime Data
https://ucr.fbi.gov/hate-crime/2019/tables/table-1.xls
Baker, Gilbert (Chicago Review Press, 2019) Rainbow Warrior: My Life in Color
The GLBT Historical Society (2020)Performance, Protest, and Politics: The Art of Gilbert Baker
https://www.glbthistory.org/gilbert-baker?gclid=Cj0KCQjw–GFBhDeARIsACH_kdZQPXdiuBvlVK6rqEYsEVrt7eKlS8GHPsLgbzUk0aEmBvLwzaZBl88aAmPCEALw_wcB
Biography.com Editors. A&E Television Networks (June 25, 2020).Marsha P. Johnson Biography. Biography
https://www.biography.com/activist/marsha-p-johnson