THE HISTORY OF PRIDE MONTH

After years of police harassment, patrons and residents of Greenwich Village, N.Y., a predominately LGBTQ neighborhood, reached a boiling point during yet another raid at the Stonewall Club. They fought back by throwing objects at the arresting officers and police vehicles becoming a full-blown riot. A year later, community members marched through the streets in commemoration of the event and honoring the fight and those they lost, dubbing it "Christopher Street Liberation Day." This eventually became "Gay Pride" and later, "Pride" to include all under the LGBTQ umbrella.

What do the colors on the flag represent?

Gilbert Baker designed the rainbow Pride Flag. The flag has been changed slightly over the years. Baker's original design included "hot pink" to celebrate the joy of sex and turquoise represented art. Today, the more common Pride flags aligned with the actual rainbow - red is for life, orange is for healing, yellow is for sunlight, green is for nature, blue/indigo is for harmony and violet is for spirit.

Misconceptions about the LGBTQ community:

There are quite a few misconceptions about the LGBTQ community. People in the LGBTQ community want the same things that most people outside of the LGBQT community want: love, acceptance, family, a sense of belonging in the work and to feel safe being themselves. Other misconceptions are: putting their personal business in our faces or trying to recruit people or that being around or raised by LGBQT people will turn you.

C&A Pride Month 6.21
C&A Pride Month 6.1.21

Stigma Facing Teens

There is a driving force for inclusivity in high school communities but there is still a lot of push back from parents and even some school staff. Some schools have been trying to provide support by allowing for the forming of LGBTQ groups of GSA (Gay Straight Alliance). According to About Magazine, these local school districts have clubs at their high schools: Alliance, GlenOak, North Canton Hoover, Jackson and Northwest.

Pride Flag

Although there has been significant progress with increasing visibility of LGBTQ youth, there are still people, and a lot of times family, who 'disagree' with the youth and still face an enormous amount of discrimination.

Resources

Counselors available to talk:

The Trevor Project Hotline: 1.866.488.7386
Coleman Crisis Center: 330.452.6000
LGBT National Help Center: 1.888.843.4564
LGBT National Youth Talkline: 1.800.246.7743
TransLife Line: 1.877.565.8860
StarkHelpCentral: 330.455.6644

Training information:
http://www.TheSafeZoneProject.com

Parents Support Group:
http://www.PFLAGAkron.com

 

Websites:

StarkHelpCentral:  http://www.starkhelpcentral.com/coming-out
Human Rights Campaign: http://www.hrc.org
Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network: http://www.GLSEN.org
Ohio-based Kaleidoscope Youth Center at http://www.KYCOhio.org
Outsupport: http://www.outsupport.org
College Student Guide: https://www.intelligent.com/lgbtq-online-college-student-guide/