Hello everybody! I know it’s been a while, and for that I’m so sorry. I’ve missed being on Steemit 7 days a week, but college is crazy. However, I decided to take a moment and write something that needed be posted:
#### June starts today, and that means pride month does too! So I wanted to tell you a little about the background of these celebrations.
Many countries around the world celebrate June as the LGBT Pride month, and hold many positive events (such as rallies, festivals, marches and parades) that celebrate the beautiful diversity that characterizes the LGBTQ+ community, recognize the importance of LGBT individuals through history, whilst raising awareness in a most constructive way as it promotes visibility and equality.
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## Why June? The month of June was chosen as the pride month to commemorate the Stonewall Riots, which was an uprising of members of the LGBT community against a police raid that took place in June 28th, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in Manhattan, NYC. [](https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/05/31/things-know-about-lgbtq-pride-month-this-june/rIDJZoaZOOq1V2otbrivvJ/story.html) This riot is known to be a very important occurrence since it was the first time people of the community decided to fight back against being mistreated and disrespected by authorities based only on their sexual orientation and gender expression. Shortly after, other events of rebellion took place, and change was starting to be seen. > "It was clear that things were changing. People who had felt oppressed now felt empowered." -Lilli Vincenz ### Who Started the June Celebration? It was Brenda Howard, A.K.A. the “Mother of Pride”, who coordinated the first LGBT Pride march and came up with the idea of spreading the iconic word “Pride” as related to LGBT positivity. These events then developed into the annual LGBT festivities held every June.https://steemitimages.com/DQmVqgGSwAz7AWk12PB2B2uiwMiHcAH2tE2R1Q8nHZoHzr3/33.gif
## Why do LGBT people need Pride month? 
It is a movement that celebrates sexual diversity. For us members of the LGBTQ+ community, it is a way of protesting about discrimination and violence and promotes dignity, equal rights and self-affirmation, just as the activities do higher the chance of increasing society’s awareness of the issues we face on a daily basis.
> “The simplest expression to help illustrate the continuing need for these days and months (other than “every day is men’s day” or “white history is celebrated every month” or “straight pride is every day”) is that the squeaky wheel gets the grease.” –USA Today
We need Pride because the fact of identifying as other than cisgender and straight can be used against us when it comes to simple lifestyle things like a job interview, an apartment rent, or basic safety for that matter.
[](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-pride-parade-met-20170625-story.html)
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### Pride Month Calendar! I follow an awesome page on Instagram, and I saw they made this super cool calendar for this year's pride month. They gave permission to use it as long as credit is given to them, so make sure to check them out! ### [@lgbt.etc_](https://www.instagram.com/lgbt.etc_/) https://steemitimages.com/DQmVqgGSwAz7AWk12PB2B2uiwMiHcAH2tE2R1Q8nHZoHzr3/33.gif
Diversity is something we should be proud of, and we all deserve recognition for the battles we've won, specially when the odds aren't in our favor. [](https://blog.oup.com/2017/07/pride-month-reading-list/) We're all human, and human rights shouldn't be something we have to ask for. On these 30 days of Pride month, let's try to be as postive and productive as we can! Let's raise awareness on the things that matter and let's celebrate our existence and freedom! ## Happy Pride everyone! Let resilence be our north! Who’s with me?  Previous LGBTQ+ Talks: [What's the difference between sex and gender? | Sex, gender identity, gender expression, and more!](https://steemit.com/lgbt/@mariacaffrey/lgbtq-talk-what-s-the-difference-between-sex-and-gender-or-sex-gender-identity-gender-expression-and-ore) [The Transgender umbrella and non-binary gender identities | Female and male are not it!](https://steemit.com/lgbt/@mariacaffrey/lgbtq-talk-the-transgender-umbrella-and-non-binary-gender-identities) [Guide to start being a trans ally | Basic manners, gender neutral pronouns, and more!](https://steemit.com/lgbt/@mariacaffrey/lgbtq-talk-guide-to-start-being-a-trans-ally-or-basic-manners-gender-neutral-pronouns-and-more) [The different types of attraction | It’s not all about sex and romance!](https://steemit.com/lgbt/@mariacaffrey/lgbtq-talk-the-different-types-of-attraction-or-it-s-not-all-about-sex-and-romance) [Sexual and romantic orientations | Labels?!](https://steemit.com/lgbt/@mariacaffrey/lgbtq-talk-sexual-and-romantic-orientations-or-labels) 