What is the impact of our pride?

We are finally here!!  Pride month 2024…Happy Pride Y’all🥳🏳️‍🌈

I don’t know about you but celebrating pride never gets old to me.  Every year we make it to this midway point on the calendar, on the cusp of summer and I find myself just bursting with excitement for this season of raising and waving flags, telling our stories, dancing to bumping beats and offering smiles to family, friends, allies and supporters alike.  

This year I’m sitting with the question “What is the impact of our pride?”  Pride celebrations, in any form, are not just events but powerful expressions of our visibility, identity, and resilience.

Pride is a celebration of who we are. It is a time to embrace our authentic selves and celebrate the diversity within our community. 

We are inheritors of the impact of pride rising from protest.  From the audacious and bold acts to speak our truth, raise our voices and remain unwavering in the work of social change, Pride becomes a season of remembering what it took to get us to where we are.  And how the future is inviting us to continue to link arms, build networks and work together to foster a community where all LGBTQ+ people, families and allies can live, work, play, worship and visit as their full authentic selves in a welcoming place like the Greater Richmond region. 

The impact of pride is also deeply personal. For many, participating in any pride event is a transformative experience, an opportunity to stand tall and proud, and for many of our siblings often for the first time. The impact of our pride consists of several small acts building on each other to positively affect the greatest amount of good for the largest number of people.  

So as you put your personal calendar of pride events together, consider the impact of your pride.  How are you celebrating the amazing human you are?  In what ways are you uplifting the bold, brilliant people you are in community with?  The connections we forge, the awareness we raise, and the empowerment we foster will drive our efforts in the months to come. 

Diversity Richmond has been doing this for 25 years.  We remain committed to supporting, advocating, and celebrating with our community as we fulfill our mission to connect people, partners and programs through our work as a catalyst, a voice, a place and a resource.

Hope to see you around the area at many, many pride events happening.  Be sure to check out our events calendar to find out what VA Pride has in store for the Endless Summer of Pride and the many other events happening this month.