6.07.19 – APFA Celebrates Pride Month

Friday, June 7, 2019

APFA Celebrates Pride Month

The month of June was chosen as LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer) Pride Month to honor the Stonewall riots, which occurred fifty years ago this year. Subsequently, many pride events are held during this month to recognize how the LGBTQ community has impacted the world.

Very few establishments welcomed openly gay people in the 1950’s and 1960’s. At the time, the Stonewall Inn was owned by the Mafia. Police raids on gay bars were common in the 1960’s, however, police officers quickly lost control of the situation at the Stonewall Inn, a gay club located in Greenwich Village in New York City. On June 28, 1969, New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn.

The raid sparked a riot among bar patrons and neighborhood residents as police roughly hauled employees and patrons out of the bar. This lead to six days of protests and violent clashes with law enforcement outside the bar on Christopher Street, in neighboring streets and in nearby Christopher Park. These riots were considered to signify the most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for LGBTQ rights in the United States.

Fast forward to present day. Less than four years ago on June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down all state bans on same-sex marriage, legalized it in all fifty states, and required states to honor out-of-state same-sex marriage licenses in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges.

On June 24, 2016, President Barack Obama designated a new national monument at the historic site of the Stonewall Uprising in New York City to honor the LGBTQ equality movement.

“The top-scoring companies on this year’s CEI are not only establishing policies that affirm and include employees here in the United States, they are applying these policies to their global operations and impacting millions of people beyond our shores,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. In March of this year, American Airlines reaffirmed its commitment to the HRC’s Business Coalition for the Equality Act. AA joined more than 160 businesses in support of comprehensive non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people as part of the nation’s civil rights laws.

“The Association of Professional Flight Attendants is proud of our diversity,” said APFA National President Lori Bassani. “The fight for human rights has been a driving force for our Union since its inception in 1977.”

As the largest independent Flight Attendant Union, our mission statement states, APFA has fiercely advocated for the Flight Attendant profession and has been on the forefront of change for workplace equality, women’s and human rights. The fiftieth anniversary of the Stonewall Riots reminds us all of the significant challenges faced each and every day, and ultimate sacrifices that were made to create equality for all LGBTQ people.

In Pride and Unity,

Robin Charbonneau
APFA National Communications Chair