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LGBTQ+ PRIDE MONTH
June is nationally recognized as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month, a month dedicated to honoring the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan, celebrating LGBTQIA+ communities, and raising awareness for LGBTQIA+ equality. At PennWest, we are committed to cultivating a campus environment where students, faculty, staff, and greater community members feel respected, seen, and heard for all they are and will be.
History
LGBTQ+ Pride Month began on the first anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, where thousands of LGBTQIA+ people marched in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago commemorating the Stonewall Uprising and the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States. What began as a fight to outlaw discriminatory laws and practices against the LGBTQ+ community has transformed into a worldwide celebration in many cities, including Amsterdam, Paris and London, with parades, picnics, concerts, workshops, and festivals. Pride Month symbolizes visibility, dignity, equality and community for LBTQIA+ individuals and allies. It acknowledges and honors past and current struggles and individuals who fought for equality and to live and love freely. And it celebrates all the wins, including the Supreme Court’s landmark same-sex marriage ruling in 2015.
LOCAL AND REGIONAL PRIDE CELEBRATIONS
June 2 – 3, 2023
Allegheny Commons Park
June 4, 2023
Bloomfield- Main Street, between Penn & Liberty Ave
June 10, 2023
Noon – 9 p.m.
Main Street Pavilion
June 24, 2023
Noon
Perry Square
People’s Pride March & Music Festival
June 25, 2023
11 a.m.
Dickson Elementary School perimeter
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
If you are not personally free to be yourself in that most important of all human activities — the expression of love — then life itself loses its meaning. – Harvey Milk
I always wondered why somebody doesn't do something about that. Then I realized I was somebody. – Lily Tomlin
I can’t begin to express how remarkable it feels to finally love who I am enough to pursue my authentic self. – Elliot Page
There is no thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives. – Audre Lorde
PENNWEST Spotlight – What is PRIDE Month to me?
"Pride month to me is a celebration of the freedom to be my true self without discrimination. Pride month is not just about the celebrations we can have as a community, but the initiatives that have gotten us new freedoms today and the hardships that are still being fought. Pride month allows me to come together with my community to uplift our voices and support one another. We as a community have come so far, but our fight is not done, this Pride month and every day we need to come together to support our LGBTQIA+ community members and those who are on the front lines of discrimination. "
Darrek Harshberger
Senior, California Campus
Major: Communications Studies
Minor: Event Planning & Mgmt., Mktg, & Tourism
PennWest University | Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
dei@pennwest.edu | pennwest.edu/about/dei
