DRC Pride Month Resources

The DRC celebrates Pride Month in June to promote within our workplaces and society respect, dignity, and solidarity among all people regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Pride celebrations grew out of commemorations of the uprising against police harassment in June 1969 at the Stonewall Inn in New York – the most notable of many demonstrations for civil rights for LGBTQ people.

In 1998, former President Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 13087, prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and expanding equal opportunity employment in the Federal government. On June 11, 1999, Proclamation No. 7203 officially recognized June as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month.

In June 2003, the Supreme Court struck down anti-sodomy laws in Texas and 13 other states in its Lawrence v. Texas ruling. In June 2009, Gay and Lesbian pride month was expanded to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride month under Proclamation No. 8387.

The Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Windsor extended federal benefits to same-sex couples in June 2013, while in June 2015, the Supreme Court recognized same-sex marriages in its Obergefell v. Hodges ruling.

Last year, in Bostock v. Clayton County, the Supreme Court ruled that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 extends to LGBTQ workers. But even with these legal and social gains, people in the LGBTQ community are still experiencing discrimination in housing, employment, and education. Learn more about the current climate in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation report, A Workplace Divided: Understanding the Climate for LGBTQ Workers Nationwide.

Read and Watch:

• • • DiversityInc | An Allied Approach: Embracing Next-Level Inclusion for LGBTQ Employees
    • Dallas Pride | Parade History
    • VisitDallas | Dallas LGBTQ History
    • History | Pride History
    • NBC | Dallas Council Votes to Allow All City Facilitates to Fly Pride Flag in June
    • PBS | LGBT Pride Month

Events:

• • • June 1 | City of Dallas | Pride Flag Raisings – Virtual and In-Person
    • June 4-5 | Dallas Pride 2021 – Virtual and In-Person
    • June 18-20 | Dallas Southern Pride Annual Juneteenth Unity Weekend-In-Person

How to be a LGBTQ Ally:

• • • Join forces with employee resource groups (ERGs) by hosting an ally training course at work using these Human Resource Campaign resources.
    • Register your company to complete the Corporate Equality Index
    • Highlight Pride in the office and online. Host panels and conversations that highlight policies or initiatives that your company is doing to support inclusivity.
    • Take a moment to learn about the legacy of Pride. Visit the United States Library of Congress, which includes the history, executive, and legislative documents as well as additional resources.