Happy Pride Month from all of us at Compassion Bands! Here, we'd like to discuss the history of pride, where our donations are going, and why this is an important cause to support!
The History of Pride
On June 28th, 1969, the Stonewall Riots occurred. At this time, police could arrest and force hospitalization of gay people. On this day however, the people fought back. Marsha P. Johnson, a black trans woman, threw the "shot glass that was heard around the world" at police, shouting "I have my civil rights!" Others joined in the riot to fight for LGBTQ+ rights, which lasted 6 days. It was this riot that triggered many changes for gay rights. The following year, many cities had demonstrations and parades to commemorate the event, which developed into the Pride festivals we know today. These demonstrations created a change in the culture towards gay people and pushed for acceptance. On June 26th, 2015, gay marriage was officially legalized in the United States. We still have a ways to go, as in many other countries homosexuality is a crime. Even in our own country, there is still a lot of stigmatization and discrimination against LGBTQ+ people. Let's look at the facts.
LGBTQ+ Statistics
"More than 1.8 million LGBTQ youth ages 13-24 in the U.S. are estimated to have seriously considered suicide in the past year" (The Trevor Project).
42% of LGBT youth say the community they live in is not accepting of LGBT people (Human Rights Campaign).
LGBT youth are 2x more likely than peers to have been physically assaulted (HRC).
"The 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, a study of nearly 28,000 transgender adults, showed patterns of frequent harassment, profiling, and abuse by law enforcement officers and high rates of incarceration" (TransEquality.org).
These are just a couple of examples of the struggles LGBTQ+ people face, even within countries they have been given "rights." Luckily, there are amazing campaigns out there to help combat these issues.
The Trevor Project
The Trevor Project was founded by the creators of the LGBT award winning film Trevor. The Trevor Project offers crisis resources for LGBTQ people, including suicide hotlines, suicide prevention and training, crisis interventions, and community outreach. Because of their mission and what they do to help the LGBTQ+ community, we have decide to donate a portion of our proceeds from our Pride bracelets to The Trevor Project.
For more information, visit thetrevorproject.org.
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