ALONE WE'RE A DROP OF WATER – TOGETHER A MIGHTY RIVER
As the future gets closer each day, navigating the road ahead will require us understand the past in a much personal way. Those tests, challenges, lessons, and battles will help us to better appreciate the struggles of our future.
October 8, 2021
International Lesbian Day celebrates lesbian culture, community and visibility.
IDL dates back to New Zealand activism and is considered to be first celebrated on March 8th, 1980 by a group of 40 lesbians who marched through Wellington Park, New Zealand on International Women’s Day.
International Lesbian Day is marked annual on October 8th because it’s exactly six months after International Women’s Day on March 8th.
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First celebrated in 1994, it was declared a national History month by President Barack Obama in 2009. LGBT History Month is a month-long annual observance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history, and the history of the gay rights and related civil rights movements. LGBT History Month provides role models, builds community, and represents a civil rights statement about the contributions of the LGBT community
We take a moment to celebrates the achievements of Harvey Milk, a gay rights activist who was assassinated in 1978.
Harvey Milk was the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in a major city in the US, serving on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 1977-1978. His life and political career embody the rise of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) civil rights movement.
While in office, Milk worked to pass a gay rights ordinance and defeat Proposition 6, commonly known as the Briggs Initiative, which would have banned gays and lesbians from teaching in public schools. Milk encouraged LGBT people to be visible in society and believed in achieving social equality.
Milk was assassinated in 1978 by Dan White, a former colleague on the Board of Supervisors whose politics often clashed with Milk’s. On October 11, 2009, Californian governor Arnold Schwarzenegger established Harvey Milk Day to be held as a significant observance on May 22, which is Milk’s birthday. Harvey Milk Day is marked as a special day of significance in schools across the state.
We’re heading to Boston Pride to celebrate their 50th pride march this year!!
Join us in as The River of Pride and The Unity Pride Flags take part on Saturday June 13th.
Martin Luther King was an important civil rights activist. He was a leader in the movement to end racial segregation in the United States. His most famous address was the “I Have A Dream” speech. He was an advocate of non-violent protest and became the youngest man to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He was assassinated in 1968.
Deborah Batts – 1994 was the first openly gay or lesbian United States federal judge (United States District Court for the Southern District of New York)
Lea DeLaria is an American comedian, actress, and jazz singer. DeLaria is credited with being the first openly gay comic to appear on a late-night talk show with her 1993 appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show. She is best known for her portrayal of inmate Carrie “Big Boo” Black on Netflix original series Orange Is the New Black.
In December 1993 Lea DeLaria hosted Comedy Central’s Out There, the first all-gay stand-up comedy special.
The first Dyke March (a march for lesbians and their straight female allies, planned by the Lesbian Avengers in 1993) was held in Washington, D.C., with 20,000 women marching
Althea Garrison was elected as the first transgender state legislator in America, and served one term in the Massachusetts House of Representatives; however, it was not publicly known she was transgender when she was elected.