Celebrating Pride Month

A message from Tepper School Dean Isabelle Bajeux

Today marks the first day of Pride, a month in which we uplift and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community in a number of different ways. Across the globe, various events are held during this month as a way of recognizing the influence the LGBTQ+ community has had on the world.

Pride Month was designated to be celebrated in June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan. The Stonewall Uprising was a tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States and was a culmination of many years of activism in support of equality for the LGBTQ+ community.

Today, we celebrate this month through pride parades, picnics, parties, social gatherings, workshops, symposia, and concerts. We also take this time to remember the countless lives lost to senseless hate crimes and those who lost their battle with HIV/AIDS.

In addition to being a time to celebrate and remember, Pride Month is also an opportunity to peacefully protest and raise political awareness of current issues facing the LGBTQ+ community. While parades are a prominent feature of the month, there are many community events, poetry readings, public speaking, and education sessions that are geared towards raising awareness of the struggles the LGBTQ+ community faces for equal rights.

I hope you will join me this month in celebrating Pride and our LGBTQ+ community. I encourage all of you to be active allies to your peers and support diversity here at the Tepper School.

You can visit the Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion for more information on the resources available to enhance inclusivity for all students at the Tepper School. I also encourage you to seek opportunities in and around your local community to support and celebrate Pride month.