Since 1970, some type of LGBTQ+ Satisfaction has been celebrated in June to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall rebellion, a rebel in opposition to state-sanctioned discrimination and intimidation in response to a police raid at storied New York homosexual bar the Stonewall Inn. Whereas Stonewall patrons endured frequent raids—a lot of which resulted in arrests for violating legal guidelines in opposition to “cross-dressing”—the group spontaneously resisted that summer time evening, sparking a motion that calls for equal human and civil rights for the LGBTQ+ neighborhood to today.
From the start, honoring the rebellion’s anniversary has been about celebrating queerness and persevering with the struggle for freedom from discrimination and systemic oppression. For some, the month is a chance to revel within the LGBTQ+ neighborhood’s range, magnificence, creativity, resilience and love. For others, nonetheless, it may be a extra somber second, a name to motion to do not forget that there’s nonetheless work to do to make sure all folks have equal safety, equal alternatives, and the liberty to reside and love authentically.
In response to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), there are presently greater than 585 anti-LGBTQ+ payments launched on the state and federal stage, together with actions proscribing transgender athletes in sports activities, eradicating sure books and curriculum from faculties, and even difficult the suitable to same-sex marriage. Moreover, political strain has resulted in widespread erasure of LGBTQ+ identities from governmental entities—together with eradicating point out of transgender people or affect from the Nationwide Park Service web site for the Stonewall Nationwide Monument.
At REI Co-op, we consider that the outside is for all, and we’re on a mission to get all people outdoors. Meaning making certain all folks—together with LGBTQ+ neighborhood members—really feel welcome, represented, heard and honored in outside recreation areas and on our public lands. This yr, we wished to acknowledge the complexities that Satisfaction month brings for members of the co-op’s LGBTQ+ neighborhood by inviting REI Co-op Members, workers and companions to share what Satisfaction 2025 means to them in their very own phrases. Learn their ideas beneath, and we hope that it doesn’t matter what this Satisfaction month means to you that you simply’re in a position to get outdoors freely, joyfully, lovingly, authentically and proudly.
A few of these messages have been edited for size and readability however are shared in every contributors’ personal voice.
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