As we begin to emerge from our homes and our prolonged isolation in the wake of the pandemic, celebrating Pride Month this June is particularly meaningful. Pride is over fifty years old and began as a form of resistance and protest, initially stemming from the leadership of queer and transgender women of color fighting for our rights at the Stonewall Riots. Those defiant protests, in response to a police raid on a well-known gay tavern in Greenwich Village in New York City in 1969, helped galvanize the movement for LGBTQ+ rights across the country and the globe. To this day, Pride is a celebration and recognition of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer community and of all the different identities encompassed within it.

Those of us working in community development can also use this time as an opportunity to think critically and openly about ways that we, as an organization and as an industry, can center the needs of LGBTQ+ people more intentionally. At LISC, we are working to make this happen through trainings and professional development, in our recruitment and retention approaches and through the queer space we have built in our LGBTQ+ affinity group.

Read the full article about community development and LGBTQ+ Pride by Dan McConvey at LISC.