Each June Felton honors Pride Month and Juneteenth. Pride honors the 1969 Stonewall Rebellion that helped ignite the LGBTQIA+ civil rights movement and Juneteenth, a day of reflection and celebration in recognition of when the last group of people enslaved in the state of Texas were informed of their freedom under the Emancipation Proclamation. Felton uplifts the lived experiences of the resilience of Black and LGBTQIA+ people and honors the intersectionality of these two communities that have historically been allies in the fight for justice and equality.
Black and LGBTQIA+ Alliance Before the Stonewall Rebellion
Resistance and rebellion come in many forms. In the 1960’s homosexuality was clinically classified as a mental disorder, and laws denied the basic rights of anyone suspected of being gay and forbade same-sex relationships. The Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Manhattan, was repeatedly raided by police who beat, threatened, and arrested clientele and staff. Ignited by Black drag queen and community organizer Marsha P. “Pay it no mind” Johnson, the rebellion sparked the LGBTQIA+ Civil Rights movement and was the inspiration for Pride. Similarly, the Civil Rights movement included LGBTQIA+ leaders. Civil rights leader Bayard Rustin was openly gay when laws and prejudices existed that restricted the rights of Black and LGBTQIA+ communities. Rustin said “It was an absolute necessity for me to declare my homosexuality, because if I didn’t, I was part of the prejudice. I was aiding and abetting the prejudice that was a part of the effort to destroy me.”
Felton Honors Juneteenth and Pride
Felton Institute honors Pride Month and Juneteenth while promoting and supporting programs and evidence-based research in the pursuit of LGBTQIA+ and racial equity and social justice. We remain committed to being allies.