6.01.22 – June Recognitions

Wednesday, June 1, 2022

June Recognitions

June is Pride Month, commemorating the anniversary of the Stonewall riot in Greenwich Village, New York City. On June 28, 1969, Police raided the Stonewall Inn, a club and haven for the gay community. Tired of being constantly harassed, the community protested, and out of this, organizations formed to end discrimination and advocate for equal rights. Such organizations are The Gay Liberation Front, GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), and the Human Rights Campaign.

June is also Caribbean-American Heritage Month, recognizing and honoring the contributions of immigrants from the Caribbean. We appreciate the many ways Caribbean-Americans enrich and impact our lives. They bring their skills and talents to government, music, art, food, media, science, education, and all that embodies this country.

June 3 is Gun Violence Awareness Day. Considering the recent mass shootings at a grocery store in Buffalo, NY, and at an elementary school in Uvalde, TX, we want to recognize our collective grief and deep sadness. This has been particularly hard to see such hate and pain inflicted, and everyone’s hearts are breaking. Our thoughts go out to their families and friends.

It is crucial to recognize trauma and take care of your emotional health, then find where our heart leads us to advocate together as a country to support all the ways we can work to prevent this from happening again, to bring honor to these precious lives lost.

June 4-6, Shavuot was originally a grain harvest festival and is the Jewish “Feast of Weeks” celebrating the revelation of the Ten Commandments, the Torah God gave Israel at Mt Sinai, principles to live by, and the covenant established at Sinai between God and Israel.

June 5 is Pentecost. Like the Jewish Feast of Weeks, Pentecost was originally a harvest festival. It is the seventh Sunday after Easter/Pascha and marks the birth of the Christian Church, commemorating the Holy Spirit descending upon the followers of Jesus.

June 12 is Loving Day, where we observe the anniversary of the 1967 United States Supreme Court decision Loving v. Virginia, which struck down the laws in 16 states barring interracial marriage.

June 12 is Race Unity Day, also called Race Amity, and was started in the Bahá’í faith, promoting unity of humanity, racial harmony, and understanding.

June 14 is Flag Day. It is the anniversary of Congress adopting the US Flag in 1777, and it is the US Army’s 247th Birthday, with its first establishment in 1775.

June 19 is Juneteenth, also called Freedom Day, celebrating and honoring African- American achievement and acknowledging the Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery.

June 19 is also Father’s Day, showing appreciation for fathers and father figures who have positively impacted our lives.

On June 20, World Refugee Day, we are particularly aware of the War in Ukraine and all the people displaced to neighboring countries, such as Poland, Romania, Moldovia, and Hungary. People worldwide are reaching out together to help the people of Ukraine.

June 21 marks the Summer Solstice, the first day of summer, marking the longest day of the year. The sun shines closest to the Northern Hemisphere and the farthest from the Southern Hemisphere.

On June 26, we recognize the anniversary of the legalization of same-sex marriage in the US. On June 26, 2015, in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court ruled that the right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples.

If there is a day you would like us to acknowledge, please reach out to us. We would love to work with you on this recognition. We hope your June is full of meaningful moments, and please remember the best way to be there for others is to stay healthy and take loving care of yourself.

In Solidarity,

Chaddrian, Charlotte, and Rhonda
APFA Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee
[email protected]