June is Pride Month
Pride Month is celebrated each year in June, to recognize the impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals have had on our history - locally, nationally, and internationally. Learn more from the Library of Congress.
A note about LGBTQIA+ These letters stand for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual. The + sign in this context recognizes that our understanding of labels and vocabulary is personal, and continues to evolve.
June 19
On this day in 2014, The US Presbyterian Church voted to allow pastors to perform marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples.
Learn more in "Sex and the Constitution: Sex, Religion and Law from America’s Origins to the Twenty-First Century"
June 18
On this day in 1994, the opening ceremony for the fourth Gay Games - an international sporting and cultural event promoting inclusion, participation and personal growth - was held in New York City, and timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising.
Learn more in the Library collection:
"Power games: A Political History of the Olympics"
June 17
On this day in 1968, the documentary film "The Queen" was released, directed by Frank Simon. It tells the story of the 1967 “Miss All American Camp Beauty Pageant,” and follows Jack (AKA Sabrina, the mistress of ceremony for the contest) and the pageant contestants, recording rehearsals and behind the scenes conversations about draft boards, sexual identity and sex change operations. "The Queen" paved the way for later classic drag films such as "Paris is Burning" and "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar."
Learn more in the Library collection:
"Hiding My Candy"
June 16
On this day in 2008, Lesbian rights pioneers, Del Martin and Phyllis Lyons made headlines as the first same-sex couple to wed in the city of San Francisco. Today, the GLBT History Museum in San Francisco, California honors their legacy by displaying their wedding pantsuits in a permanent museum exhibit.
Learn more in the Library collection:
"The L Life :Extraordinary Lesbians Making a Difference"
"Wide-Open Town: A History of Queer San Francisco to 1965"
June 15
On this day in 2014 the Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. re-ordained minister Allyson Robinson, who had previously been ordained as a man. This gesture symbolized the church’s acceptance of transgender individuals in the clergy.
Learn more in the Library collection:
Transgender Lives and Stories Book List
“Transgender History: The Roots of Today’s Revolution”
June 14
On this day in 1950, the U.S. Senate authorized the investigation and eventual purge of homosexuals from the federal government which would become known as the “Lavender Scare,” a reference to the better known Red Scare which motivated the government’s actions. Members of the LGBT community were viewed as communist sympathizers, and were thus deemed risks to national security during the McCarthy era. Hundreds of people lost their jobs as a result of this campaign.
Learn more in the Library collection:
“The Bureau: The Secret History of the FBI”
“Reds: McCarthyism in 20th Century America”
June 13
On this day in 1958, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously reversed three lower court rulings that an issue of ONE magazine, the first U.S. pro-gay publication, based in Los Angeles, was obscene. This ruling defended the free expression of the LGBT community and paved the way for wider distribution of LGBT writing.
Learn more in the Library collection:
"Censored: A Literary History of Subversion and Control"
"Obscenity Rules: Roth v. United States and the Long Struggle over Sexual Expression"
June 12
On this day in 2016, a lone gunman opened fire at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, killing 49 people and wounding 53 others. It was the deadliest incident of violence against LGBT people in U.S. history.
Related item in the Library collection: "Love is Love: A Comic Book Anthology to Benefit the Survivors of the Orlando Pulse Shooting"
June 11
On this day in 2017, DC’s Capital Pride Parade drew an estimated 400,000 attendees, making it the largest celebration in the event’s 42-year history. Capital Pride 2018 took place on Saturday, June 9.
Learn more in the picture book "This Day in June."
June 10
On this day in 1997, Jay Fisette became the first openly gay candidate to win a primary election in the state of Virginia. He went on to be elected to Arlington County Board, where he served for two decades, making him one of the longest-serving local politicians in the region. Fisette retired from Arlington County Board on January 2, 2018.
Learn more in the Center for Local History's Oral History "Jay Fisette Interview."
June 9
On this day in 1891, composer and lyricist Cole Porter was born. Known for his musical scores and lavish lifestyle, Porter was one of the most famous American gay figures of the 20th century.
Learn more in the film, "De-Lovely," based on Porter's life.
Listen to works by Cole Porter in the eColletion from Alexander Street Press (log in with your library card number and PIN).
June 8
On this day in 2015, Jamie Lee Henry, a doctor and Major in the Army’s Medical Corps, became the first openly transgender active duty U.S. Army officer. Department of Defense regulations that banned transgender individuals from US military service were officially repealed on June 30, 2016. President Donald Trump has made multiple attempts to ban transgender individuals from serving in the U.S. military, but to this date the Pentagon has refused to comply with the ban.
Learn more in the Library collection: "Transgender History: The Roots of Today's Revolution"
Learn more in the news: "The First Out Transgender Active Duty U.S. Army Officer: ‘My Story Is Not Unique’,” Buzzfeed News, June 8, 2015
June 7
On this day in 1954, computer scientist, mathematician and legendary World War II codebreaker Alan Turing died of self-inflicted cyanide poisoning. Turing was instrumental in cracking intercepted coded messages that enabled the Allies to defeat the Nazis and thus win World War II. In 1952, Turing had been convicted of indecency for conducting a romantic relationship with a man, and was sentenced to chemical castration. Turing committed suicide three years later. In 2009, 55 years after his death, the British government released a statement apologizing for the “appalling” treatment Turing had received, and in 2011, Turing was officially pardoned of the charge of indecency.
Learn more in the Library collection:
"Alan Turing: The Enigma"
"The Imitation Game: Alan Turing Decoded"
June 6
On this day in 1875, German author Thomas Mann was born. Mann’s work, most notably the 1912 novella “Death in Venice,” was pivotal in introducing the discourse of same-sex desire into general culture. Mann was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1929, and is one of the best-known contributors to Exilliteratur, the body of anti-Nazi literature produced by German exiles. He fled the Nazis, first to Switzerland, then to the United States, where he remained from 1939 until the increased surveillance and censorship of the McCarthy era forced him to return to Europe.
Learn more in the Library collection:
"Death in Venice and Other Stories"
"Thomas Mann: A Collection of Critical Essays"
June 5
On this day in 1981, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) described cases of a rare lung infection in five young, previously healthy, gay men in Los Angeles, the first official reporting of what became known as the AIDS epidemic. Throughout the 1980s, HIV and AIDS disproportionately affected the LGBT community, and the stigma surrounding gay identity often made it more difficult for AIDS patients to access adequate healthcare and information about their condition. But through persistent advocacy by healthcare professionals, educators and community activists, and advances in medical technology, life expectancy and quality of life have improved dramatically for those living with AIDS in the US.
Learn more in "How to Survive a Plague: The Inside Story of How Citizens and Science Tamed Aids"
June 4
On this day in 2008, California’s Supreme Court rejected challenges to its historic decision permitting same-sex couples to wed. By rejecting petitions asking for reconsideration of the May 15 ruling, the court's 4-3 vote removed the final obstacle to same-sex marriages in California. The first same-sex marriages in California took place on June 16.
Learn more in:
"From the Closet to the Altar: Courts, Backlash, and the Struggle for Same-Sex Marriage.”
"Making it Legal: a Guide to Same-Sex Marriage, Domestic Partnerships & Civil Unions"
June 3
On this day in 1926, beat generation poet and counterculture figure Allen Ginsberg was born. Ginsberg’s poem "Howl" was the subject of a landmark obscenity trial for its explicit reference to homosexuality (among other things), which at the time was illegal throughout the United States. After a widely publicized trial, the obscenity charge was dismissed as "Howl" was deemed to have "redeeming social importance."
June 2
On this day in 1951, Gilbert Baker, designer of the rainbow pride flag, was born. The original rainbow flag was unveiled at San Francisco Pride in 1978, with colors intended to reflect the diversity of the LGBT community. In 2015, the Museum of Modern Art ranked the rainbow flag as an internationally recognized symbol as important as the recycling symbol.
Learn more in "Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag."
June 1
On this day in 2003, Belgium became the second country in the world (after the Netherlands) to legalize gay marriage. In the Belgian House of Representatives, the bill prevailed in a 91-22 vote with nine abstentions. The bill passed in January 2003 and took effect on June 1.
Learn more from Proquest Newspapers, Simons, M. (2003, Jan 31). World briefing Europe: Belgium: Parliament approves gay marriages. New York Times.
