Pride Month During the Pandemic: LGBTQ Community Celebration Goes Online

June is a very special month of celebration for the LGBT community. Known as “Pride Month”, it is a time when members of the community take to the streets in order to demonstrate their pride and to support one another. 2020, however, has presented challenges to the traditional way in which Pride month is celebrated. The Covid-19 Pandemic still presents a very real threat, with many restrictions on gatherings still in effect.

Compounding the issue, we’re continuing to see ongoing protests in support of George Floyd. Even with this, lets stay positive! There are plenty of ways that we can help celebrate and amplify the stories and voices of our LBGTQ brothers and sisters even in trying times. In this article, we provide suggestions to help the LGBTQ community and their supporters celebrate Pride month during the pandemic.

• Become More Informed
• Pride Everywhere Campaign
• Celebrating Pride Online
• Zoom Video Conferencing
• Global Pride Online
• Physical March
• Support Local Initiatives
• Wrap Up

Become More Informed

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has suggested that an important way to honor the LGBTQ community during Pride Month is to raise awareness of some important cases that are currently before the Supreme Court. Three cases that the ACLU specifically highlight are the following:

Aimee Stephens: Aimee was fired from her job after expressing her desire to come to work as the woman that she is. Aimee died in May. Learning about her case is a way that we can all honor her memory. Here is a video of Aimee discussing her case.

More than anything, this is what we hope you'll listen to today: Aimee Stephens' fight for trans rights, the moment she realized how many people were behind her in this fight, and why we should never give up, in her own words. pic.twitter.com/iNxDtM37EP

— ACLU (@ACLU) May 12, 2020

Gerald Bostock: Gerald was fired from his job as a social worker simply for being gay. 

Don Zarda: Don was a skydiving instructor. On one occasion, he was required to get physically close to a woman he was instructing. To put her at ease, he told her that he was gay. This was deemed ‘inappropriate information’ and Don was fired from his job.

The Transgender Law Center also encourages people to remember and become more informed about the Black trans leadership who were the driving force behind establishing the LGBTQ movement. Learn about them here.

Pride Everywhere Campaign

The Trevor Project Pride organization is a suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for catering to LGBTQ youth. This fantastic organization helps youth embrace their Pride in every month. This year, the organization has launched the Pride Everywhere campaign. According to the Trevor Project Pride website:

“Pride isn’t just about parades, it’s about celebrating what makes our LGBTQ community thrive. No matter how challenging things may seem, this much is true: Pride isn’t going anywhere, because Pride is everywhere.”

Trevor Project Pride is encouraging people to get involved by:

• Creating their own  #PrideEverywhere photo to use on social media. Follow these steps to do this:

1. Go to the Trevor Project’s website
2. Click on the link to create your own #PrideEverywhere photo

Watch and share the Trevor Project’s “Pride Everywhere” video featuring Demi Lovato

Celebrating Pride Month Online

If you thought that celebratory parades and political demonstrations would be scrapped this year,  you’ve got another thing coming! They’re all still happening – they’ve just moved online. In fact, there’s a whole calendar of digital events lined up that you can participate in. Here are some highlights:

• New York City Virtual Pride – On June 28th, New York’s Pride celebrations kick into high gear with a number of high profile stars performing. The event will be streaming live on ABC Live from noon to 2 pm EST as well as on WABC Channel 7. Get more information here.
• Dragfest 2020 – Taking place between June 19-21, this is a three-day event that will be hosted by Marti G. Cummings. It will include 100 of the best drag performers out there. Learn more about Dragfest here.
• LGBTQ Digital Pride and Migration 2020 – This event is organized by the RDJ Refugee Shelter and is intended to recognize a large population of LGBTQ displaced people. The event takes place on June 20th, which happens to be World Refugee Day. Learn more about this event here.

To make sure that you don’t miss out on any of the Pride month events, be sure to stay connected and check online daily for the latest happenings.

Pride Month Zoom Video Conferencing

The world of technology has opened up a ton of possibilities to celebrate Pride month without actually hitting the streets. Why not organize an online stream party via Zoom? Depending on the COVID restrictions in your area, you may actually be able to have in-person parties of up to 20 people. But if not, there’s no reason for you to be alone. Zoom parties allow you to share music, laughs, and experiences!

Be sure to get regular coronavirus updates to stay up to date.

Global Pride Online

Don’t think that your Pride celebrations have to be confined by national borders this year. Global Pride 2020 is set to be the biggest celebration of the entire month, with international acts, digital celebratory gatherings, and lots of other cool stuff. It is expected to attract more than 300 million viewers online. Global Pride 2020 begins streaming on June 27th. They will be streaming 24 hours of content that reflects and celebrates the diversity of LGBTQ people all over the planet.

Physical Marches in Pride Month

The Reclaim Pride Coalition is planning on moving forward with a physical march on Sunday, June 28th through the streets of Manhattan. According to their website:

Our March will center the movement for Black Lives and focus on the violence committed against Black bodies by law enforcement and the mass incarceration state.

Find out more here.

Support Local Initiatives

We’ve highlighted some major events that are being put on with big company support. However, there are thousands of local initiatives also taking place that are worth mentioning. Individuals and small groups have come up with all sorts of ways to show their support during Pride month. Most of them will have a social media presence and you can support them online. Check out Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok to find out what people are doing and how you can help!

Wrap Up

We’re not going to see or experience the massive street carnival celebration and atmosphere that is traditionally associated with Pride Month in 2020. But that doesn’t mean that Pride month activities have to be any less impactful. There are more online LGBTQ celebrations going on this year than ever before. And with the likes of Zoom and YouTube bringing the celebrations into our home, there’s no excuse to not celebrate Pride better than ever before this June.