Recognizing Pride Month
Jun 9, 2021Dear BC Community,
This June, Bellevue College joins the nation, and world, in celebrating Pride Month. It’s a time to recognize the achievements and importance of our LGBTQIA+ communities, raise awareness of the issues and challenges they still face, and honor the 1966 Compton’s Cafeteria Riot in San Francisco which became a catalyst for other LGBT-related protests like the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan and the first Pride March in 1970.
While progress has taken place since then thanks to the strong advocacy of the LGBTQIA+ community and allies, that progress continues to be jeopardized by dehumanizing acts of violence, hate, discrimination, and legislation that seeks to deprive them of their human rights. It’s also important to recognize that members of other underrepresented groups who identify as LGBTQIA+ face challenges on multiple levels, and equally deserve our unwavering support.
This support includes exploring these complexities while also confronting and unlearning biases we may hold ourselves. Education is a journey, not a destination, and there’s no shame in recognizing our limitations and expanding our capacity to be more understanding, better informed, and inclusive.
On that note, thanks to our LGBTQ+ Task Force there will be plenty of opportunities to celebrate and advocate for our LGBTQ+ community, learn more about Pride Month and LGBTQIA+ history, and to hear from members of this community speak to their own experience and identity(ies). Stay tuned to your email for more information!
Our Library Media Center has once again also created a wonderful virtual display to celebrate Pride Month with eBooks, electronic references, and videos.
Thank you for enriching our BC community and contributing to our diverse campus.
Gary Locke (he/him/his)
Interim President