#hernando pride

Today, October 16th, is International Pronouns Day! International Pronouns Day seeks to make respecting, sharing, and educating about personal pronouns commonplace.

Jane Addams (September 6, 1860 – May 28, 1935) was an American settlement activist, reformer, social worker, sociologist, public administrator and author. She was a notable figure in the history of social work and women's suffrage in the United States and an advocate for world peace. She co-founded Chicago's Hull House, one of America's most famous settlement houses. In 1910, Addams was awarded an honorary master of arts degree from Yale University, becoming the first woman to receive an honorary degree from the school. In 1920, she was a co-founder for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). In 1931, she became the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and is recognized as the founder of the social work profession in the United States. Maurice Hamington considered her a radical pragmatist and the first woman "public philosopher" in the United States.

Pride 2019 will mark the 50th anniversary of the historical shift in the LGBT rights movement. On this day 50 years ago, patrons and neighbors of a New York gay bar took a stand against a government who refused to see and treat them as valid members of society. What started as a targeted raid against the illegal sale of alcohol to gay people that caused multiple people to be injured and arrested, ended up being an all out riot. Trans men and women, along side the gay men that frequented the bar that night decided that enough was enough and that it was time to stand up for themselves against the biased, abusive, oppressive, and bigoted arm of the law. For three days, members of the LGBT community alongside allies marched, fought, rioted and picketed in the streets demanding fair and equal treatment and an end to the discrimination. The actions of these brave men and women are now referred to as the first Gay Pride event.

Prior to these concerted efforts to make change for people who couldn’t help who they loved and how they felt, members of the LGBT community were effectively deemed to be of an illegal existence. This left them open to harassment from law enforcement, susceptible to being institutionalized as homosexuality was seen as a form of psychosis, abuse from anyone who found out about their sexuality, public humiliation, and extortion. As bad as all of these things were for lesbian and gay people they were doubly horrific for members of the trans community.

Among the many activist that participated in that first stand off with law enforcement and the government were two well known drag queens Marsha “Pay It No Mind” Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. While standing in solidarity with the lesbian and gay members of the LGBT fight they saw an opportunity to help an even more oppressed group of people that seemingly was going unnoticed. Together, these two women started the first trans activism organization S.T.A.R, Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries. The purpose of the organization was to help the homeless transsexual, gay, and gender non-conforming community in New York by helping to provide temporary housing, food, and some forms of education to the abandoned and discarded youth and sex workers of the city. While the first S.T.A.R. house did not last for long as Marsha and Sylvia both regularly struggled with homelessness, the two continued the fight in service of those less fortunate than themselves. These women were pioneers for the trans and gay community as well as the advancement of the LGBT movement.

Much progress has been made since that initial uprising in 1969 towards the acceptance and equal treatment of members of the LGBT community. While we have achieved great things like inclusion in the military, marriage equality, and in some states protection from workplace discrimination we still have a long way to go in this fight. More specifically as it pertains to our trans family. Much like the conditions of 1969 our trans sister and brothers are still being murdered, harassed, openly discriminated against, assaulted, bullied, and disregarded. This can not continue to stand!

Straight Ally Flag

The black and white stripes in the background (field) represent straight (heterosexual) people. A large rainbow colored "A" (for Ally) is added in the foreground to indicate straight support for LGBTQ people, issues, and concerns.

An ally, straight ally, or heterosexual ally is a heterosexual and/or cisgender person who supports equal civil rights, gender equality, and LGBT social movements, and challenges homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia. An ally believes that LGBTQ people face discrimination and thus are socially disadvantaged.

Organizations and activism:

Most LGBT organizations have straight or cisgender members involved; others actively encourage straight and cisgender participation. A gay–straight alliance (also known as a gender-sexuality alliance) is a student-run club that brings together LGBT and straight students to create a platform for activism to fight homophobia and transphobia. There are also some groups that unite the LGBT community to work together with allies.

Founded in 1973, PFLAG (PFLAG) is the original ally organization, started by Jeanne Manford, mother of the Ally movement. Based in the United States, PFLAG unites LGBTQ+ people with parents, families, and allies to gain full civil and legal equality for LGBTQ+ people. In 2007, the organization launched a new project, Straight for Equality to help more allies become engaged in the LGBTQ+ movement in the workplace, healthcare, and now in faith communities. Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) is another organization specifically formed to group allies of this cause.

Some children of LGBT couples are straight allies, notably Iowan Zach Wahls, the son of two lesbians, though he has expressed a different view of his relationship to the LGBT community:

"To be clear, I don't consider myself an ally. I might be [a] straight cisgender man, but in my mind, I am a member of the LGBT community. I know the last thing that anyone wants is to add another letter to the acronym, but we need to make sure as a movement we're making a place for what we call "queer-spawn" to function and to be part of the community. Because even though I'm not gay, I do know what its like to be hated for who I am. And I do know what its like to be in the closet, and like every other member of the LGBT community, I did not have a choice in this. I was born into this movement."

Feather (Drag) Pride

The Feather Pride flag is associated with the Drag community, The symbol is a phoenix, representing the fiery passion that sprang up in the drag community during the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.