Pride Week at Broward College celebrates LGBTQIA+ identities and educates the BC community on the LGBTQIA+ experience. Through diverse programming and providing services to students, the week advocates for social justice concerns while connecting students, faculty, and staff to each other and the broader community. Come celebrate the beauty and breadth of LGBTQIA+ culture through performances, activities, socials, and community-building.

A brief history of why June is considered Pride Month

Early in the morning of June 28th, 1969, a police raid of the Stonewall Inn—a popular Greenwich Village gay and lesbian bar—turned violent and set off a wave of riots in that New York neighborhood. The Stonewall Riots marked the beginning of a new era in activism and liberation efforts, and would form the foundation for the modern fight for LGBTQ+ rights.

Several of those present during the Stonewall Riots would become notable leaders in the movement. Marsha P. Johnson, an outspoken gay-rights advocate, was active in the Stonewall uprising, and would go on to found and inspire several LBGTQ+ outreach and support groups.

Johnson and her close friend Sylvia Rivera, another significant gay and trans civil-rights activist, founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), which provided housing and support to gay, gender-non-conforming, and transvestite homeless youths. STAR would also serve as a foundation for other organizations advocating for and supporting LGBTQ+ groups.

In the years after the Stonewall riots, marches and parades were held at the end of June to commemorate the day. Now, Pride Month serves to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and gives a louder platform to the advocates and activists fighting for LGBTQ+ civil rights.

And to our LGBTQIA+ colleagues and students: we see you, we love you, and you belong.