At Apogee one of our core values is Inclusivity. Our commitment to LGBTQ+ is to do more and to help raise awareness, not only at Apogee but within our local communities.
For decades, Pride has been celebrated in the month of June and is dedicated to celebrating all of the LGBTQ+ communities across the globe. Typically, Pride month is celebrated with parades, marches, concerts and much more but with pandemic and social distancing still in place, things are very different this year. Nevertheless, global celebrations will continue on Zoom, TikTok and other social media, keeping people connected and celebrating Pride.
June is the month chosen to celebrate pride as it was the month of the Stonewall riots, the protests that changed gay rights for many people around the world. It all started in New York City on June 28th, 1969. Following a police invasion of a gay club, with riots and protests encompassing the city. Transgender activist Marsha P. Johnson has since been credited for throwing the first brick or shot glass that sparked the riots on that night.
How are Apogee involved?
At Apogee one of our core values is Inclusivity. Similar to our Sustainability & Environmental initiatives, we are near the beginning of our journey. We would like to use Pride 2021 to kick start our commitment to the LGBTQ+ communities and making a real tangible difference. Pride is all about people coming together in love and friendship, to show how far gay rights have come, even if in some places there is still some work to be done.
Looking forward, our commitment to LGBTQ+ is to do more and to help raise awareness, not only at Apogee but within our local communities. Be part of making a positive change - as the world embraces change let’s make sure Apogee is part of that journey.
With ‘inclusivity’ being one of our core values here at Apogee, it is important that we not only support the awareness of Pride but also ‘do’ more. It may only be our first steps, but any steps taken in the right direction is something we can all be proud of as together we can make a positive change. Each year we will do more as we continue to learn and support change in our communities.
- Dom Gryszan, Marketing Director
1. June is the month that commemorates the Stonewall riots of June 1969. On 28th June 1969, the NYC police raided the Stonewall Inn, a well-known gay club in Greenwich Village in New York City. This sparked a series of protests and violent clashes in various bars and neighbourhoods in town, which served as a catalyst for gay rights movement across the world.
2. Bisexual rights activist Brenda Howard is considered the “Mother of Pride” as she first coordinated Liberation March on Christopher Street on 28th June 1970, exactly a year after the riot incident. She came up with the idea of a week-long Pride Festival with parades, rallies and dance parties, which has been kept since.
3. Throughout the years, the Pride name has changed from the initial Gay Liberation March to Gay Freedom March and with the cultural shift in the 80’s, these events started to adopt the name Gay Pride, now often just “Pride”.
4. The Rainbow Flag, the international symbol of LGBTQ+ community, was designed by Gilbert Baker in 1978. It used to be comprised of 8 colours, which were later cut down to six - red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet (removing hot pink and integrating turquoise and indigo into royal blue).
5. Every colour on the flag has its meaning:
> Red = life
> Orange = healing
> Yellow = sunlight
> Green = nature
> Blue = harmony
> Violet = spirit
6. Baker also led the creation of a mile-long Rainbow Flag to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in 1994, which for a number of years became the world’s largest flag.
7. The Greek Lambda symbol was commonly used as the symbol of the gay rights before the rainbow flag as it was the sign of Gay Activist Alliance.
8. The LGBT communities in Europe have been celebrating the pan-European Europride since 1992. It is hosted by a different city every year, this year the event took place in Vienna and Thessaloniki will be the home for 2020.
9. South Africa is home to the only Pride on the African continent and holds annual marches in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
10. Aside from Pride, Dyke Marches are also held in various cities around the world. Dedicated to lesbians, they usually take place on the eve of Pride. They were first organised by Lesbian Avengers in New York City in 1993.
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