Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) celebrates LGBTQIAP+ Pride Month 2022 by honoring and highlighting the diverse culture, heritage, and contributions of the LGBTQIAP+ community throughout history. Pride Month centers and celebrates the wide spectrum of sexual orientations and gender identities of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, Aromantic, Agender and Pansexual (LGBTQIAP+) individuals, advocates, allies, and communities. The “+” represents the additional identities and orientations recognized and those that are still to be discovered. Pride month is a celebration to increase visibility, affirm, recognize, and honor the impact the LGBTQIAP+ community have had on history locally, nationally, and internationally.
STEM Scholar Highlights:
- Dr. Kenro Kusumi, Dean of Natural Sciences and Professor of the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University
- Rochelle ‘Shelley’ Diamond, Manager of the Flow Cytometry/Cell Sorting Facility at the California Institute of Technology
- Dr. Jessica Ware, Associate Professor, Curator of Odonata & non-Holometabolous Minor Orders)
Read, Watch, Listen
- Explore the Gordon Library’s Pride Month collection
- Explore the history of The Stonewall Uprising of 1969 online
- Explore Pride Month resources curated by The Library of Congress online
- Explore The National Center for Transgender Equality online
- Read the LGBTQIAP+ Book Spotlights online
- Read Milestones in the American Transgender Movement by The New York Times online
- Read Out Magazine online
- Read A Proclamation on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, And Intersex Pride Month, 2022 online
- Watch Stonewall Uprising online
- Watch the TV Series Pose online
- Watch The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson online
- Listen to the Afro Queer Podcast
- Listen to the Lez Hangout Podcast
- Listen to the Making Gay History Podcast
Take Action
- Support Pride Worcester
- Attend Pride Month celebrations in the Greater Worcester area
- Support The Trevor Project
- Register to Vote -OR- Check Your Voter Registration
- Everything you need to vote. Vote.org
The history of pride can be traced to a number of critical events, namely, the 1969 Stonewall Riots/Uprising. On June 28, 1969, during the early morning hours, New York City Police raided the Stonewall Inn, a well-known gay club located in Greenwich Village. Members of the queer community protested in response to persistent police brutality. Leaders, such as Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera were at the center of organizing the uprising towards liberation for these oppressed communities, and gay rights activists, communities, and advocates all came together to demand a change. The Stonewall Uprising became a tipping point for the Gay Liberation/Rights Movement in the United States.
Learn more: https://www.loc.gov/lgbt-pride-month/about/