Pride Month 2020

KU Staff Senate D&I Committee

“To realize a world of equality and dignity for all, we will have to change laws and policies; we will also have to change hearts and minds. Every sector and every person can play a role, speaking out to remind the world that it should not be illegal to live your life as you are and to live your life with whomever you love.”

― Rick Parnell, former Chief Operating Officer of the UN Foundation

COVID‐19 has necessitated the cancellation of many traditional in‐person LGBTQ+ Pride events, such as parades and parties, this year. However, amidst urgent protests against unchecked police brutality and white supremacy culture a march of thousands in Brooklyn (one among many across the US) on June 14 in support of Black Trans Lives underscored the intersection of racial equity and equity for LGBTQ+ people. The intertwining of these fights for social justice serves as a reminder that women of color, including trans activists Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera as well as Black lesbian activist Stormé DeLarverie, were at the Stonewall Inn during the police raid in 1969 and were among the first to fight back in protest. This resistance is widely considered as the inception of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, the 51st anniversary of which was celebrated yesterday, June 28, 2020, across the country.

Resources for Learning

  • Teen Vogue’s Celebrating Pride 2020 Across the United States (includes video diaries, journal entries, photos, and art from across the US)
  • Learn about the significance of the Supreme Court’s June 15 LGBTQ Employment decision.
  • Learn about Lambda Legal’s suit against the Trump Administration’s recent Anti‐Transgender Health Care Rule.
  • Donate in support of Black Trans Lives.
  • Support the Kansas City Anti‐Violence Project (KCAVP), “a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation committed to providing domestic violence, sexual assault, and hate crimes advocacy and education to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community. Currently, we are the only LGBTQspecific domestic violence or sexual assault services in Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, or Iowa. KCAVP was created to address this gap by providing support and services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender queer and questioning victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and hate violence in the region, with a home base in the Kansas City area and services throughout Missouri and Kansas.”
  • Learn how to make workplaces more equitable for trans people.
  • Watch Sam Feder’s 2020 Netflix documentary Disclosure, which examines trans representation in media including films and TV from the perspective of trans actors and activists.
  • Watch Lauren Tabak and Barry Walters’ short (15‐minute) documentary about a Black queer icon: Love Me Like You Should: The Brave and Bold Sylvester.