HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 06-15-2021; 4-c - Proclamation Recognizing June 2021 as Pride Month in Orange County 1
ORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: June 15, 2021
Action Agenda
Item No. 4-c
SUBJECT: Proclamation Recognizing June 2021 as Pride Month in Orange County
DEPARTMENT: Human Rights and Relations
ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT:
Commissioner Renee Price,
Proclamation (919) 245-2130
Annette Moore, Human Rights and
Relations, (919) 245-2317
PURPOSE: To consider a proclamation recognizing June 2021 as Pride Month in Orange
County, North Carolina.
BACKGROUND: Each year the month of June affords the opportunity to celebrate the legacy of
individuals who have fought and continue to fight for the equality of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
Transgender and Queer (to include intersex and asexual groups) (collectively referred to as
"LGBTQ+") residents and recall the trials they have endured.
The month of June was selected as Pride Month in honor of the uprising at the Stonewall Inn in
June 1969, which sparked a liberation movement. In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969,
New York police raided a gay bar, the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village. Officers began shoving
customers and employees into police vehicles when one lesbian, instead of going quietly, began
fighting and cried to the crowd watching, "Why don't you guys do something!" Instead of
dispersing as they normally did, the crowd began chanting, throwing bottles and bricks. Violent
demonstrations continued over the following days. Stonewall's violent demonstrations amid the
protest over the Vietnam War, civil rights and gender equality, marked a decisive break from the
passive sexual-orientation politics of the day. In the wake of Stonewall, organizations flourished
that were not afraid to use confrontation to push reform such as the Gay Liberation Front.
The Pride marches began after young activists in 1969 at the Eastern Regional Conference of
Homophile Organizations called for nationwide demonstrations each June to honor the Stonewall
Uprising. In 1970, the first Pride March called, "Christopher Street Liberation Day" was held in
New York City. The event attracted thousands of people. Now cities and towns around the world
host Pride marches. These marches were not only the first highly visible public events for gay
people to express their sexuality, but also to demonstrate their political expression. In 1987, the
Washington, D.C. Pride March coincided with first showing on the AIDS Memorial Quilt on the
National Mall. The Quilt covered a space larger than a football field adorned with 1,920 panels
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capturing the names of those who had died from the disease. Today, the AIDS Memorial Quilt is
a 54-ton tapestry that includes nearly 50,000 panels dedicated to more than 105,000 individuals.
The LGBTQ+ community in America has achieved remarkable progress since Stonewall. Historic
Supreme Court rulings in recent years have struck down regressive laws, affirmed the right to
marriage equality, and secured workplace protections for LGBTQ+ individuals in every State and
Territory. The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act broadened the
definition of hate crimes to include crimes motivated by sexual orientation or gender identity.
Members of the LGBTQ+ community now serve in nearly every level of public office — in city
halls, State capitals, Governors' mansions, halls of the Congress, the White House and the
military.
For all of the progress, there are many states in which LGBTQ+ individuals still lack protections
for fundamental rights and dignity in hospitals, schools, public accommodations, and other
spaces. There are tragic spikes in violence against transgender women of color. LGBTQ+
individuals — especially youth who defy sex or gender norms —face bullying and harassment in
educational settings and are at a disproportionate risk of self-harm and death by suicide. Some
states have chosen to actively target transgender youth through discriminatory bills that defy the
Nation's values of inclusivity and freedom for all. Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools 2017 Youth Risk
Behavior Survey data indicates that 16% of high school youth and 10% of middle school youth
identify as LGBT or questioning.
The country continues to face tragic levels of violence against transgender people, especially
transgender women of color. And the public is still haunted by tragedies such as the Pulse
Nightclub shooting in Orlando. Ending violence and discrimination against the LGBTQ+
community demands continued focus and diligence. Society must be committed to defending the
rights of all LGBTQ+ individuals.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact associated with this Proclamation.
SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPACT: The following Orange County Social Justice Goal applies to this
item:
• GOAL: FOSTER A COMMUNITY CULTURE THAT REJECTS OPPRESSION AND
INEQUALITY
The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race or color;
religious or philosophical beliefs; sex; gender or sexual orientation; national origin or ethnic
background; age military service; disability; or familial, residential, or economic status
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT: There is no Orange County Environmental Responsibility Goal
associated with this action.
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board approve and authorize the
Chair to sign the Proclamation.
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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROCLAMATION RECOGNIZING JUNE 2021
AS PRIDE MONTH
WHEREAS, LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer) Pride Month is
celebrated nationally each year in the month of June, this month being chosen to commemorate
the riots that took place at the Stonewall Inn in Manhattan on the morning of June 28, 1969, often
viewed as the birth of the modern LGBTQ rights movement; and
WHEREAS, several major United States Supreme Court decisions impacting LGBTQ rights in a
positive way have been announced in June, including Lawrence v Texas, U.S. v Windsor,
Obergefell v Hodges, Pavan v. Smith, and Bostock v. Clayton County, and another decision is
forthcoming this month that will impact LGBT rights in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, Orange County has a history of advancing the rights of its LGBTQ residents,
including Carrboro becoming the first town in the state to enact a domestic registry for same sex
partners, extending eligibility for employment benefits to same-sex partners of County employees
in September 2004, and the election a gay and lesbian elected officials within the County; and
WHEREAS, additionally, in January of this year, Orange County was among the first local
governments in the state (along with Hillsborough, Carrboro, and Chapel Hill) to pass a local
nondiscrimination law extending protections in public accommodation and employment for
persons based on their sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression; and
WHEREAS, much physical and psychological violence is still inflicted on LGBTQ people both
at home and abroad, violence toward transgender people of color is increasing, bullying and
harassment of LGBTQ youth who make up a disproportionate number of homeless youth in the
United States continues, and the North Carolina General Assembly continues to entertain bills
targeting the transgender community; and
WHEREAS, Orange County is committed to standing with and supporting the LGBTQ
community, and to working to ensure that all of people, regardless of their sexual orientation or
gender identity or expression, are treated with respect and dignity;
NOW, THEREFORE, we the Orange County Board of Commissioners do hereby proclaim the
month of June 2021 as PRIDE MONTH in Orange County and urge the North Carolina General
Assembly to pass the following bills into law:
1. The "Equality For All Act," which would establish comprehensive statewide
nondiscrimination protections for all LGBTQ people in NC (HB 450/SB 396)
2. HB 451/SB 438, which would fully and cleanly repeal HB 142 and get the
discriminatory law off of the books. (sponsored by Senator Valerie Foushee)
3. "Mental Health Protection Act," which would prohibit the practice of `conversion
therapy.' (HB 452/SB 392)
4. HB 449/SB 409, which would ban the so-called "gay/trans panic" defense, a defense
that historically has been used to dismiss anti-LGBTQ violence and justify "heat of
passion" assaults.
This the 15th day of June 2021.
Renee Price, Chair
Orange County Board of Commissioners