As you know, June is Pride Month and a time to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community. As we celebrate Pride this month, we recognize the valuable contributions of LGBTQIA+ individuals across our communities and around the nation, and we reaffirm our commitment to standing in solidarity with LGBTQIA+ communities in their ongoing struggle against discrimination and injustice.
Although the movement began long before 1969, we recognize that year’s Stonewall uprising in New York City as a catalyst to recognize the rights, the dignity and the solidarity with our LGBTQIA+ family. Stonewall began when Marsha P. Johnson, a Black transgender woman, and a coalition of gay rights activists spurred an act of rebellion against the laws that oppressed the community. Today, these acts have become an inclusive celebration of LGBTQIA+ visibility. When we think about all they have accomplished, we thank those who marched at Stonewall and in movements throughout the country, for it is their courage and vision that gave birth to the LGBTQIA+ movement.
Here at the House, I am proud to note that at Association House High School, faculty and staff provide youth with a safe, structured, and educational environment after school hours through extra-curricular activities, including a Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) program for students. Across our programs, we will continue to proudly celebrate all of our LGBTQIA + staff and participants, and we commit to making the House a safe space to learn and grow as individuals. We strongly support freedom of expression and self-identification with love and respect.
We at Association House will always support and celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community, and we stand together in solidarity with our LGBTQIA+ community. For those interested in learning how to be a better ally, the Human Rights Campaign provides resources to educate ourselves better. For today and for always, we stand together in rejecting hate and in supporting our LGBTQIA+ community.
Best,
Juan Carlos Linares
President & CEO