How to celebrate Pride Month at home

The New York City Pride parade is typically the largest pride parade in North America. This year, for the first time in its half-century history, the rally has been moved online. Hosted by Heritage of Pride, Inc., the event will take place on Friday, June 26, from 5-8 p.m. EST with speeches from public figures like Ceyenne Doroshow, Annie Segarra, Edafe Okporo, and Leandro E. Rodriguez Ramos. Everything stream simultaneously on Facebook and YouTube.

For too long, the contributions of activist and drag queen Marsha P. Johnson to the LGBTQ+ movement have been overlooked. “The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson,” which can be streamed on Netflix, has set out to change that. The documentary includes interviews with Johnson, who was a central figure in the Stonewall riots, as well as those who knew her and takes a deeper look at the influence she had on queer liberation.

The Trevor Project is the leading national organization that provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for LGBTQ+ youth under the age of 25. Since its founding in 1998, the organizationhas provided services for hundreds of thousands of youth via its Trevor Lifeline, TrevorChat, TrevorSpace, and Trevor Education Workshops programs. Donations of any monetary value are accepted, and The Trevor Project is always seeking out new volunteers who can donate their time to further the organization’s mission.

The first picture book to tell the story of Stonewall and its importance in the LGBTQ+ movement, “Stonewall: A Building. An Uprising. A Revolution.” was written by Rob Sanders. The dynamic and inclusive illustrations are sure to delight children and adults alike.

Since the first LGBTQ+ community centers opened in 1971, they have been places of refuge for queer folks. These centers provide support, resources, and services for LGBTQ+ individuals, and simply provide spaces where they can be seen, heard, and valued. CenterLink, the community of LGBT centers, has developed a tool that allows people all over the country to identify the center nearest to them and provides them with the contact information they need in order to reach out and join.

One in five trans individuals will experience homelessness at some point in their lives, according to the National Center for Transgender Equality. The For the Gworls fund works to fight this high rate of homelessness by assisting Black trans people with rent money. They also use a portion of their funds to help trans individuals receive gender-affirming surgeries they seek, ensuring that they receive quality medical care that will lower the risk of these complicated procedures.

Drag Queen Story Hour is an organization that reads stories to children in libraries, schools, and bookstores around the country. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many of their regular events have been canceled, but from 1-2 p.m. EST Saturday, June 27, a group of drag queen performers from around the world will read stories and lip-sync children’s songs online. Tickets for the event, which celebrates the “legacies of diverse LGBTQ activism, marked by events like the 1969 Stonewall uprising, led by queer and transgender people of color” can be found on Eventbrite.

Based on true events, the 2014 movie “Pride” is about the unlikely alliance that arose between LGBTQ+ activists and the mining families participating in the British Miner’s Strike of 1984. The “Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners” campaign ended up being majorly impactful for both groups. “Pride” won the Queer Palm award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014.

The Prism Foundation is a grassroots organization working to support the Asian and Pacific Islander LGBTQ+ community by offering scholarships to students and offering funding and practical support to local community organizations and projects. As the foundation is entirely volunteer-run, you can feel confident that the entirety of your donation is going toward the causes themselves.

In 2010 Dan Savage and his partner Terry Miller started the It Gets Better campaign to uplift and empower LGBTQ+ youth around the globe. Queer people of all genders, races, creeds, and orientations can share their own stories on the platform to remind today's youth that "hope is out there." You can also sign a pledge to ensure that the world is a brighter spot for the next generations, donate to the project, and skim through their wide array of resources including their YouTube channel.

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Black Queer Town Hall is a three-day virtual event that will support and raise funds for Black LBGTQ+ organizations and performers. Hosted by Peppermint, Bob the Drag Queen, Marti Gould Cummings, and The Only Productions, the event will be streamed on YouTube and Facebook and will include performances and round-table discussions. Donations can be made to organizations and individual performers throughout as well as to the #BlackLivesMatter movement.

The okra plant, brought over by Africans on slave ships, is often associated with health, prosperity, and community. The Okra Project has repurposed this staple of diasporic cooking traditions as a symbol for their operation, which seeks to “address the global crisis faced by Black Trans people by bringing home-cooked, healthy, and culturally specific meals and resources to Black Trans People wherever we can reach them.” Beyond simply providing meals to Black trans folks, The Okra Project also teaches culinary skills, provides grocery money for those who need it, and has created affinity and wellness spaces for individuals who often can’t find them anywhere else.

A nationally recognized LGBTQ+ civil rights lawyer and the president of the Human Rights Campaign, Alphonso David is the first person of color to hold that title. Follow him on Twitter and learn more about the advocacy work he’s doing by visiting the Human Rights Campaign’s website.

“Diary of a Drag Queen” is a memoir told from the dual perspective of journalist Tom Rasmussen and their alter-ego drag queen Crystal Rasmussen. In turn hilarious, glamorous, and eye-opening, Sam Smith called the absorbing tale of one individual’s nonbinary experience “the queer bible [he’s] always needed.”

Filmed in the mid-to-late '80s but not released until 1990, "Paris Is Burning" tells the story of New York City ball culture, through the lens of the Black and Latino gay and transgender communities responsible for creating it. The Ryan Murphy hit "Pose" covers the same subject and took much of its inspiration from this classic documentary.

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In 2017 the Sage Table initiative launched to fight isolation in the LGBTQ+ community. In normal times, queer folks of all ages come together to share a meal, build connections, and begin conversations. While these “meals” have all gone virtual due to COVID-19 you can still sign up to host a meal on the Sage Table website or join their Facebook group in order to participate in meals happening near you.

The Victory Fund is the only organization in the country dedicated to electing LGBTQ+ government officials. Under the current administration, ensuring representation for all has become more important than ever. Support Victory Fund this Pride Month by donating, volunteering your time, and committing to attending events when it’s safe to do so.

“Pariah” is about a young Black woman from Brooklyn who is coming to terms with her own sexual identity and facing the idea that her family may not welcome her with open arms. Spike Lee produced the film, the main message of which is about “choosing, not running” from yourself or the circumstances you find yourself in.

Christopher Street Tours is the premier organization for LGBTQ+ walking tours in New York City. On June 25, the company will be hosting a free virtual trivia night, testing participants’ knowledge of LGBTQ+ history and Pride around the world. You can register here, and make a donation on Venmo which will go toward funding the company’s youth-oriented programming.

Much of America's queer culture is centered around it's more liberal coasts, but in "Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States" transgender reporter Samantha Allen focuses on the thriving queer communities in the often-overlooked flyover states. From drag shows and political rallies in Provo, Utah, and the Bible Belt, the stories and interviews contained in this book are essential reading for members of the LGBTQ+ community and anyone who considers themselves an ally.

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Laverne Cox rose to fame after playing Sophia Burset on “Orange Is the New Black” and becoming the first transgender person to be nominated for an Emmy Award. A proud LGBTQ+ activist, Cox fights particularly for queer communities of color. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram where she often lends her voice to worthy causes.

Producer, director, writer, and actor Lena Waithe is also an unstoppable force in the LGBTQ+ community. The advocate frequently speaks out on issues that affect the queer community and puts her money where her mouth is, donating to organizations that provide support and services. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram to keep up to date with her fight for equal rights and to find out what other Pride Month appearances she might be making.

This year, Global Pride is going online. On June 27, join the 24-hour livestream which will contain everything from musical performances to speeches from activists and addresses by public figures. Exact details, like where to stream and the identities of some participants, are still being unveiled, but keep an eye on the Global Pride website for new information.

Published in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Rainbow Pride flag, “Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag” was the first children’s book to trace the flag’s remarkable history. Written by Rob Sanders, the book will introduce children to activists Harvey Milk and Gilbert Baker and their often under-told story. It’s a tale of “love, hope, equality, and pride.”

Stonewall Forever is a digital, living monument created in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. Explore the exhibit from the comfort of your own home, while learning more about the people and events that changed the course of LGBTQ+ history forever. After you've clicked through you can even add your own piece to the monument, thereby adding your voice to the collection of those demanding change, justice, and equal rights for all.

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