Lakewood honors June as LGBTQ Pride Month

Published on June 01, 2023

Black background with word PRIDE in rainbow colors

A key element of Lakewood's Community Dialogue on Race, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (REDI) is celebrating the diversity of people and cultures that Lakewood is proud to have as part of our community.

In June, that means the City of Lakewood is joining the federal, state and county governments and thousands of businesses and organizations around the nation in recognizing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month. 

On behalf of the Lakewood City Council, Mayor Steve Croft has issued a proclamation paying tribute to LGBTQ Pride Month

Pride Month traces its origins to June 28, 1969 at the Stonewall Inn in New York City where a group of gay Americans resisted harassment and mistreatment, setting in motion a chain of events that would become the birth of the modern civil rights movement for sexual orientation. 

The first national recognition of Pride Month was made in 1999.

The term “Pride” (or “Gay Pride” earlier) was coined by Thom Higgins, an activist in Minnesota along with several other prominent gay-rights activists in the late 1960s. Common symbols of Pride include the rainbow flag, the lowercase Greek letter lambda (λ), the pink triangle, and the black triangle.

The Los Angeles County Library has created a comprehensive Pride Page filled with resources and materials to inform and celebrate the LGBTQ community. For this year’s celebration, there are booklists for all ages and many in-person and a few virtual events (like a virtual film fest) to participate in.

Take a trip to the West Hollywood Library, which holds L.A. County Library’s LGBTQ Collection, a comprehensive collection of LGBT fiction and non-fiction literature and history in a variety of formats. The collection reflects the rich history, culture, and experiences of the LGBTQ community both locally and globally. It includes popular and academic materials, out-of-print and hard-to-find titles, LGBTQ classics, current bestsellers, and new Lambda Literary Award winners and nominees.

Close to home at George Nye Library and Angelo M. Iacoboni libraries in Lakewood, you can learn about American artist Keith Haring’s life and work, and create your own Keith Haring-inspired artwork with art supplies in a take-home kit. (For adults; available while supplies last). The children’s area of Iacoboni Library will also have a book display of selected readings in honor of Pride Month.

Learn more about the history of LGBTQ Americans, their struggles for civil rights, and their many achievements at the Library of Congress website, and browse LGBTQ+ Pride activities, videos, books and more at the L.A. County website.
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