June begins the month-long PRIDE celebration. This is an opportunity to celebrate the amazing diversity of people within our state federation and our larger community. This is a celebration of the various sexual identities and orientations that exist within the human family. For the LGBTQIA+ community, it is a time to fully live in one’s own skin and share in communal fellowship with others.
The celebration we know of today was not overnight. Activists committed to justice have long engaged in the struggle to assert their humanity in the face of a cruel world that refused to see them. Even when those activists, such as Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, were rejected by the community they were advocating for, they continued to press on for justice. Their commitment and dedication exemplified the tenacious efforts to demand to be seen that our LGBTQIA+ family has continually demonstrated.
AFT-Maryland is indeed PROUD to stand in solidarity with our members celebrating this month. We want those members to know they are seen and recognized. We will also continue our labor efforts to make worksites safe for LGBTQIA+ workers and all of our labor family. We never want our members to feel compelled to mute or misrepresent your identity at work or anywhere else.
For more information, check out these labor resources in support of our LGBTQIA+ family:
https://www.facebook.com/AFTPride (AFT Pride caucus)
http://www.prideatwork.org/ (AFL-CIO Pride at Work)