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In the early hours of June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York’s Greenwich Village. The bar had been packed with LGBTQI+ people dancing to Motown, enjoying a night out in one of the only places in the city where many felt they could be their true selves. At the time, homosexuality was a crime in nearly every state in this country, and LGBTQI+ people were regularly discriminated against and harassed. Gay bars like the Stonewall Inn were some of the few places where queer people could feel accepted and safe. So, when that place of refuge was raided, people in the crowd protested together—inspiring people across the country to stand up for their legal right to exist and helping catalyze the LGBTQI+ Pride Movement.
Every year during Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex (LGBTQI+) Pride Month, we celebrate the progress that the Pride Movement has made toward advancing LGBTQI+ equality—and we rededicate ourselves to combating discrimination, violence, and injustice against LGBTQI+ individuals at home and abroad.
Globally, we see some notable progress toward safeguarding the universal human rights of LGBTQI+ persons. In the past year, countries including Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Slovenia, and St. Kitts and Nevis moved to decriminalize same-sex relations and advance protections for LGBTQI+ citizens. And in May, after a multi-year legal effort, Namibia’s Supreme Court ruled that the government must recognize same-sex marriages from other countries.
At the same time, a number of alarming developments underscore the need to strengthen our efforts to advance the human rights and social inclusion of LGBTQI+ people and support advocates on the frontlines of the fight for dignity and equality. In Uganda, the Anti-Homosexuality Act, an appalling threat to the human rights of Ugandans, was enacted just last week. Draconian anti-LGBTQI+ legislation like this bill propagates harmful ideas that foster fear and incite harassment and violence. And in the United States, there has been a record surge in the number of anti-LGBTQI+ bills introduced in state legislatures. At USAID, we stand for the principle that no individual should be discriminated against, silenced, or attacked because of who they love or how they express themselves. Standing in solidarity with historically marginalized communities is a core reflection of USAID’s mission.
Later this month, USAID will release our first-ever LGBTQI+ Inclusive Development Policy, detailing how USAID will advance its leadership, drive evidence-based policies and approaches, accelerate localization with LGBTQI+ activists and organizations, and improve crisis response to help address the challenges many in LGBTQI+ communities are facing. And we recently launched the Rainbow Fund, which will provide resources for Missions around the world to integrate LGBTQI+ considerations into their programming across a range of sectors.
USAID is also collaborating with the State Department to create a more equitable assignment process for LGBTQI+ Foreign Service Officers and extend health care benefits to the partners of LGBTQI+ Foreign Service Nationals under the Local Compensation Plan. But we still have more work to do, including clarifying the resources available to support our colleagues in places where anti-LGBTQI+ sentiments are on the rise.
Throughout June, Senior LGBTQI+ Coordinator Jay Gilliam and the Gender and Sexual Minorities Employee Resource Group will host multiple Pride events, including two Virtual Pride Parades (the first at 10 a.m. Eastern Time on June 6; and the second at 9 a.m. Bangkok Time on June 7, to accommodate USAID colleagues in different time zones) and an Allyship Panel at 10 a.m. ET on June 21. I encourage you to look for event information in upcoming Agency Notices, to join the Gender and Sexual Minorities at USAID Employee Resource Group and/or LGBTQI+ Champions listserv, and to bring to your work throughout June and beyond the values of Pride: empathy, acceptance and inclusivity.
—Administrator Samantha Power
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