The following article was submitted by Megan Marchant, Vice President of PFLAG Manitowoc County through the Manitowoc Public Library.
June is Pride Month. And it’s in June that we remember the history, reflect on the challenges, and celebrate the achievements of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Pride Month was established to commemorate the events and people surrounding the Stonewall Uprising in June of 1969. The Stonewall Uprising was a series of demonstrations born out of the legal, economic, and cultural disparities in the LGBTQIA+ community, and further pushed by unjust treatment from the police. In the early hours of June 28, 1969, after decades of harassment and injustice at the hands of authorities, citizens fought back. On that morning, the Stonewall Inn—a popular LGBTQIA+ bar in New York City—was violently raided by police. LGBTQIA+ people and their allies stood up for their right to live, gather, and love, sparking the LGBTQIA+ movement in the United States.
In the decades after the Stonewall Uprising, local and regional pride celebrations began popping up in June to commemorate the Stonewall Uprising that served as the catalyst towards equality. Pride Month was first acknowledged on a national level in 1999 by then President Bill Clinton. Since its inception, Pride Month has grown in popularity and continues to bring awareness, advocacy, and community to LGBTQIA+ people and their allies.
PFLAG is a national organization that was founded in 1972 by a mother whose son was gay. Jeanne Manford walked with her son in New York’s Christopher Street Liberation Day March, met other families and allies, and realized the need for a support group. Today, PFLAG is the largest LGBTQIA+ support group in the country. PFLAG’s mission is to provide support, advocacy, and education to LGBTQIA+ individuals, their friends, their families, and their communities.
PFLAG Manitowoc County understands that a community thrives when it provides a welcome, diverse, and safe environment for all of its residents. The organization is a diverse group of grandparents, parents, families, friends, and LGBTQIA+ people. The founders of PFLAG Manitowoc County understood the reality of living in a world where acceptance could be wanting and safety could be precarious. They’re committed to PFLAG’s mission “…to build on a foundation of loving families united with LGBTQ+ people and allies who support one another, and to educate ourselves and our communities to speak up as advocates until all hearts and minds respect, value and affirm LGBTQ people.”
PFLAG Manitowoc County has been providing in-person and virtual support for LGBTQIA+ individuals, their families, and friends since 2008. They advocate for legal, cultural, and economic equality for LGBTQIA+ people. PFLAG Manitowoc County is passionate about educating their community to cultivate a more inclusive, affirming place for everyone.
Please join Manitowoc Public Library and PFLAG Manitowoc County on Thursday, June 24, at 6 PM, for “Belonging: LGBTQ+ People in Small American Communities,” a discussion panel and community conversation about living in a small community as an LGBTQIA+ person, loved one, or ally. This event will be livestreamed on MPL’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/manitowoclibrary) and their YouTube channel. It’s the intention of MPL and PFLAG that this panel discussion be an uplifting, affirming, and respectful conversation that helps Manitowoc move forward together as a stronger, more equitable community. We hope that you’ll join us.
