The month of June
June is a month of celebration, remembrance, and awareness for both the LGBTQIA+ and Black communities. This month we commemorate Pride, Juneteenth, and Loving Day.
What began in 1999 as a way to remember the June 1969 Stonewall Uprising, Pride Month both commemorates and celebrates LGBTQIA+ history, activism, and visibility over the years.
This month is dedicated to the uplifting of voices and support for equality–traditionally through parades, protests, and memorials throughout the country.
Juneteenth, short for June 19, marks the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation. In fact, the troops’ arrival came a full 2.5 years after the order was signed by President Lincoln. Considered the longest running African-American holiday, it did not officially become a federal holiday until June 17, 2021.
Juneteenth is a time to celebrate the official end of slavery, while remembering all the work we still have to do as a nation for all our people.
June 12 is Loving Day–marking the day the Supreme Court struck down 16 state bans on interracial marriage in 1967. This day is named after the monumental case they ruled on, Loving v. Virginia, and the couple at its center–Richard and Mildred Loving.
Since June 1979, June has been designated Black Music Month – the annual celebration of African-American influences on music
In honor of this month, your IDC created a Black Music Month playlist featuring a diverse selection of music by Black artists.
Education, inspiration, & action
Read:
What I Saw in My First 10 Years on Testosterone
One trans man’s experience of going onto testosterone when there wasn’t much data about what he should expect.
The essential, sweeping story of Juneteenth’s integral importance to American history, as told by a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and Texas native, Annette Gordon-Reed.
Listen:
Juneteenth, originally celebrated mostly in Texas, is gaining popularity around the country; in fact, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved a bill last year that would make Juneteenth a legal public holiday.
But as the Juneteenth celebration becomes more widespread, is there a risk that certain people (and corporations) will try to keep the food and lose the meaning?
The Sound of Pride: Stonewall at 50
Join Kathy Tu and Tobin Low, hosts of the Nancy podcast, who created a special series of episodes that explain how Stonewall–and the setback and achievements that followed–have shaped the LGBTQ experience today.
Watch:
A young couple’s interracial marriage in 1958 sparks a case that leads to the Supreme Court. Based on the true story of Richard and Mildred Loving.
The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson
As she fights the tide of violence against trans women, activist Victoria Cruz probes the suspicious 1992 death of her friend Marsha P. Johnson.
Do:
Denver
This historic street festival returns to the historically black Five Points neighborhood, June 17-19, with live performances, art, vendors and fun for the entire family. Includes interactive and educational programming at acclaimed African-American cultural institutions and landmarks.
Recognized as one of the top 10 Pride events in the country, Denver PrideFest is a celebration of community and culture that is welcoming, inclusive and fun to all attendees, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. The free, two-day festival gets bigger every year and is hosted by The Center on Colfax. The festival, which promotes the heritage and culture of the LGBTQ+ community of Colorado, typically draws more than 500,000 attendees over two days, making it the largest Pride event in the Rocky Mountain Region! The event this year will take place June 25-26.
New York
The East New York and Brownsville Community have been a huge support in building the Juneteenth NY Festival into a community staple over the last 12 years. The first Juneteenth NY Festival held in East New York, Brooklyn hosted by George Walker Jr. organization featured Umoja Events as the community planner in 2009. Umoja Events was entrusted to carry on the celebration in 2011. By 2012 the festival featured over 1,000 attendees. Due to a rapid growth, the event relocated to Gershwin Park. Since then, year after year it continued to grow reaching over 5,000 attendees. Each year features a theme that educates the Black community on its history while creatively changing the narrative of the devastating impact of slavery. During the pandemic in 2020, we hosted the event remotely which featured over 20,000 attendees.
PrideFest will take place on Sunday, June 26 beginning at 11:00am EDT. The festival area is on 4th Avenue between East 8th Street and East 13th Street. The festival can be accessed from all side-streets within the event area. Community gathering experience FamilyFest will be located at Astor Plaza (East 8th Street and 4th Avenue).