Pride Month is Personal

The month of June hits personally for me.

Pride Month carries a long history behind it. It belongs first to the brave individual LGBTQ+ community members, and our courageous allies, who pushed for visibility, safety, and the right to live and love openly when it was dangerous to do so. I want to honor that without trying to dress it up. Pride Month is both a celebration, and also, importantly, a reminder of how hard‑won this progress has been and how much of it is still unfinished.

I’m taking time to reflect on the people who came before us.

The ones who fought fear and hostility so that we can love our partners, husbands, wives, and children fearlessly, as they deserve, in harmony with everyone else who enjoys and deserves this basic human dignity.

The courage of those who came before us still shapes me and the world we move through today, and I’m grateful for it, personally.

For all the LGBTQIA+ allies out there, sincerely, I deeply appreciate you.