NCR Diversity, Equity and Inclusion #39 – June 2023

NCR Diversity, Equity and Inclusion #39 – June 2023
Cultural Observances, Awareness Information and Events

Juneteenth Independence Day and Pride Month

Pride Month

Pride month commemorates the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in New York and celebrates the LBGT community and the fight for equal rights.  Pride month is about acceptance, equality, celebrating the work of LGBTQ+ history people, education in LBGTQ+ history and raising awareness of issues affecting the LBGTQ+ community.  Pride gatherings are rooted in the history of minority groups who have struggled for decades to overcome prejudice and be accepted for who they are.

Rainbow flag is a universally recognized as the symbol for LGBTQ pride.  Created by Gilbert Baker who felt it represented all genders, races and stands for “the rainbow of humanity.”  Each of the six colors of the rainbow flag represents a different aspect of the LGBTQ movement including life, healing, sunlight, nature, serenity and spirit.

LGBT+Q stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning or Queer and “plus” represents other sexual identities.  This acronym is used to represent a diverse range of sexualities and gender-identities, referring to anyone who is transgender and/or same/similar gender attracted.

Pride month celebrates all sorts of different families, couples and individuals.  Acceptance, celebration, and love are pillars of Pride Month and the LGBTQ+ community. 

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Juneteenth

Juneteenth gets its name from combining “June” and “nineteenth,” It was the day, June 19, 1865, that Maj Gordon Granger, who fought for the Union, led a force of soldiers to Galveston, Texas, to delivered a message.   The order reads, in part.   “The people Texas are informed that in accordance with Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.  This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former master and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer,”

Earlier, in 1863, the 13th Amendment, the Emancipation Proclamation began the movement of federal government to finally take a firm stand to say slavery is wrong and it must end. 

Juneteenth became a National Independence Day Act, June 17, 2021.  Celebrating Juneteenth as a national holiday reminds us that Black Americans have been fighting for justice since the country’s inception.

Juneteenth is an opportunity to look at other cultures and racial inequality. 

Lt Col Bonnie Braun
NCR Diversity Officer