Celebrating Pride Month
Each year, Fullerton College celebrates LGBTQIA2S+ Pride Month in the month of June. The campus recognizes the achievements and contributions of our LGBTQIA2S+ students, staff and faculty through a series of events designed to foster safe and inclusive spaces for our community.
History
Pride Month commemorates the significance of the Stonewall Uprising in June of 1969, a series of gay liberation protests. Following the aftermath of these events, organizers formed the Gay Liberation Front and a march to Central Park which was centered on the theme of “Gay Pride”. Over the years, the march quickly spread to other cities before evolving into the widely known celebration that is honored today.
Evolution of the Pride Flag
Gilbert Baker created the original rainbow flag in 1978 to celebrate members of the gay and lesbian political movement. In 2018, the Progress Pride flag was developed by non-binary American Artist and Designer, Daniel Quasar (xe/xyr), to celebrate the diversity of the LGBTQIA2S+ community. The light blue, pink and white stripes represent trans and non-binary individuals, and the brown and black ones represent marginalized People of Color (POC) communities. The black stripe carries dual significance, representing individuals affected by AIDS and the accompanying stigma and discrimination, and those who have succumbed to the illness. The arrow points to the right to indicate progress ahead, while its placement on the left suggests that more progress still needs to be made for LGBTQIA2S+ equality.
The intersex-inclusive flag is the latest iteration designed by United Kingdom Activist, Valentino Vecchietti, in 2021. This re-design incorporates the intersex pride flag which utilizes the gender-neutral colors yellow and purple while the circle represents wholeness, completeness and intersex people’s potentiality.
LGBTQIA2S+ is an inclusive acronym representing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual, and two-spirit identities, with the “+” symbol acknowledging the inclusion of other identities and orientations not specifically listed.
Join us at our campus events below to celebrate Pride Month.
Campus Events
Progress Pride Flag Raising
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 5
Join us in the quad to celebrate the start of Pride Month with the Inaugural Progress Pride Flag Raising at Fullerton College. A short formal ceremony will be followed by a social mixer with bites, drinks and popsicles. This event is intended for faculty, staff, students and community members.
Pride 101
11 a.m.-noon on Monday, June 10
Zoom
Do you know why we celebrate Pride in June? Are you attending your first Pride event this year and are not sure what to expect? LGBTQIA2S+ Projects Lead, Ariel Gentalen (they/them), will go over a brief history of Pride and offer tips for safely attending Pride events at this workshop. Zoom ID: 852 2771 9547. This event is intended for faculty, staff and students.
Loud and Proud Process Group: Queer and Trans Joy
3-4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 11
Loud and Proud Process Group is a brave space for students to process everyday challenges and mental health concerns of the community hosted by LGBTQIA2S+ Community Therapist, Yanel Bueno (they/them). This Pride will focus on highlighting queer and trans joy – how we feel it, how we find it and how we can cultivate it together. This event is intended for students only.
