Pride Month History, Advocacy and Celebrations
Annually in June, the world’s LGBTQIA+ communities come together and celebrate the freedom to be themselves during Pride Month.
Pride gatherings are rooted in the arduous history of minority groups who have struggled for decades to overcome prejudice and be accepted for who they are.
The original organizers chose this month to pay homage to the Stonewall uprising in June 1969 in New York City, which helped spark the modern gay rights movement. Most Pride events take place each year in June, although some cities hold their celebrations at other times of the year. (Information courtesy of CNN)
Learn more from the resources below.
LGBTQIA+ History, Advocacy and News
- 13 Celebrities Who Have Come Out as LGBTQ in 2021
- Record-High 70% in US Support Same-Sex Marriage
- ‘Stand Up Against Hate’ Towards LGBTI People, UN Human Rights Chief Urges
- UA Social Work: Goodwin Bringing Religious Trauma for LGBTQ+ Community into Focus
- What is The Equality Act?
- The History of Queer Stigma – And How it Affects the Community’s Mental Health Today
- 2021 ‘Pride 30’ List of LGBTQ Trailblazers
- LGBTQ Rights, Milestones, Fast Facts
- 20 LGBTQ People Who Changed the World
- Human Rights Campaign
- Diversity Reboot Series 2021: Pride at Work
- Druid City Pride (Tuscaloosa)
LGBTQIA+ Terminology
Stonewall
Celebrations
- Fulbright 75th Anniversary Special EventSasha Velour: Trailblazer. Artist. Fulbrighter. In celebration of Pride Month, join the Fulbright Program for a conversation with Sasha Velour, winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race (Season 9) and 2009 Fulbright U.S. student to Russia. On June 3 at 5 p.m., Velour will discuss her Fulbright experience, share the behind-the-scenes influences that have shaped her celebrated career, and address the important contributions the LGBTQIA+ community has made on art, culture, and history in the United States and abroad. Christian Flores will join Velour in conversation and facilitate questions. Flores is a 2019 Fulbright English teaching assistant to Brazil, where he worked on Projeta Memoria LGBT — Bagé to tell the stories of Bagé’s LGBTQIA+ community. This event is free and open to the public but space is limited. Register now to reserve your seat.
- Pride Month Celebrations in Alabama
- Pride Month Events Nationwide
Books by Queer and Trans Authors
The following list was shared in Joy is Resistance, a Pride Month newsletter by the United State of Women. USOW is a national organization for all women, gender nonconforming people and allies who believe in full gender equity and want to work collectively to achieve it.
Fiction
- “Black Water Sister” by Zen Cho
- “Honey Girl” by Morgan Rogers
- “Meanwhile, Elsewhere: Science Fiction and Fantasy from Transgender Writers” edited by Cat Fitzpatrick and Casey Plett
Nonfiction
- “Transgender History” by Susan Stryker
- “A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder” by Ma-Nee Chacaby and Mary Louisa Plummer
Young Adult Fiction
- “Last Night at the Telegraph Club” by Malinda Lo
- “Let’s Talk About Love” by Claire Kann
- “When the Moon Was Ours” by Anna-Marie McLemore