In Honor of Pride Month; In Memory of a Beautiful Soul

Each June we celebrate and honor the contributions made to society by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and others of diverse sexualities and genders. This tradition started on June 28, 1970, in New York City with the first US Pride week and march exactly one year after the Stonewall Inn uprising in New York that mobilized a wave of activism, advocating, and organizing of fundamental change across the globe for LGBTQ+ human rights. The Stonewall uprising sparked a movement for change that continues to inspire passionate, resilient, and strategic LGBTQ+ leaders, allies, and organizations to take a stand against the continued discrimination, exclusion, and repression we see on a global level. Pride is a time to remember the trials and triumphs of our LGBTQ+ leaders, honor the community's voices and experiences, and draw attention to their continued fight for full equality.

This year we once again celebrate as allies of the LGBTQ+ community and we want to take a moment to remember one of the great community leaders, Andrea González. She was the legal representation and head of OTRANS Reinas de la Noche, a trans rights group in Guatemala. Andrea was a fellow of the International Visitor Leadership Program of the US State Department and a collaborator with the US Agency for International Development. We were saddened to hear that she and two other members of the LGBTQ+ community were killed in Guatemala two weeks ago. International House's Citizen Diplomacy Program had the honor of hosting her during a virtual IVLP project earlier this year focused on Human Rights – LGBTI Advocacy and Cross-Sectoral Alliances. Andrea was a vocal and passionate advocate for human rights, particularly the trans community. We are happy to have been able to meet her and offer our condolences to her family and friends as well as the LGBTQ+ community for the loss of such a passionate advocate and leader.