June is LGBTQIA+ Pride Month in honor of the Stonewall Riots in Manhattan in 1969, considered to be the tipping point of the LGBTQIA+ Civil Rights Movement. What started as a single day to commemorate the lives lost and celebrate the lives freed, is now a month-long celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community's successes and struggles, culminating in gorgeous displays of Pride with parades, parties, and unbridled joy. Pride is one of the few days, if not the only day for some, we can truly be ourselves and be seen for who we are; to be in a completely supportive and celebrated environment; to not have to justify our existence, our worth, our humanity for a weekend, a day, or even a few hours on a Sunday afternoon.
Pride gives us all hope that we might see a world where we aren’t harassed or outright killed for living our honest selves.
Celebrate Pride at Home
Join us!
SJPL is joining up with The Pear Theater in Mountain View for a Pride Month celebration of musical theater. We will be hosting the The Pear's theater director, Sinjin Jones, for a post-viewing discussion of their season-ending performance (to be determined). The focus of the discussion will be the LGBTQ experience and geared toward a teen LGBTQ audience. Regardless of the performance, it is sure to be an exciting discussion.
SJPL is also partnering with the LGBTQ Youth Space on a series of panel speaker events throughout 2021. Intersections aims to give voices to those whose lives are at the intersection of sexual and gender identity and race and ethnic identity. Their panels include speakers of a variety of identities and ages in the hopes of showing intersectionality at its most beautiful. All are welcome.
Learn
With online resources, like Defining Documents in American History - LGBTQ+ (1923-2017) and Global Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) History you can learn more about the history of the LGBTQIA+ Civil Rights Movement in the US and around the world.
Read
Reading the rainbow has never been easier with these LGBTQIA+ Pride book lists. Our staff have curated some fantastic lists for LGBTQIA+ history, fiction, romance for adults; picture books for children celebrating and supporting love, identity, and family; and beautiful and affirming books for teens.
Watch and Listen
Is there anything Hoopla Digital doesn't have? Find your next movie night title (maybe work your way through Rotten Tomatoes’s 200 Best LGBTQ Movies?), your next audiobook, or make your best ever Pride playlist for your own parade at home with Hoopla Digital.
Celebrate Pride with a Crowd (safely)
Many of the Bay Area Pride celebrations are being held this year, with your safety in mind.
San Francisco Pride
San Francisco Pride hosts the largest Bay Area Pride celebration each year. This year they've moved away from concentrating their efforts at the end of the month and spreading the love across the entire month of June with a variety of in-person and virtual events.
Silicon Valley Pride
Our homegrown Silicon Valley Pride is planning to celebrate with an event in August, as they have done in the past. They're still busy getting events organized and booked, so if you're interested in being involved they're still looking for organizers. Stay in touch to learn more as it becomes available.
Oakland Pride
Oakland Pride boasts the most diverse Pride celebrations in the Bay and are looking forward to hosting in September!
Reach out
Connect
Our local Billy de Frank Center's social and support groups have moved online and are always there to lend emotional, psychological, and physical support.
The Santa Clara County Office of LGBTQ Affairs offers a variety of support groups that meet regularly, as well as provide assistance for folx needing support. They also are a great resource for allies who are looking to educate themselves and provide better support for their queer friends and relatives.
Are you a queer teen or young adult needing connection and support? Head to the LGBTQ Youth Space! They host a variety of online chats and events to provide teens a social outlet while their physical space is still closed.
Support
Our Trans folx, especially Trans folx of color, continue to be targeted with violence, both individual or institutional. Consider putting your support behind organizations like The Trevor Project and the Trans Lifeline so they can continue to provide support for those who need it most.
Live Fully
We at SJPL see you. We see you, support you, and celebrate you for being you. We are here for you virtually 24/7, and we are definitely looking forward to being your safe space once again.
Add a comment to: Happy Pride from SJPL