The Pride Month Collection
a series created by the greater Boston LGBTQ+/AAPI Community
(Always accepting submissions!)
want to share your picture/story?
click here
or email pride@naaapboston.org
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opening remarks
"It is only through our collective effort that we can create an inclusive environment that celebrates our differences and allows us to freely be who we are."
Chris Yang (he/him)
NAAAP Boston,
Pride Month is celebrated annually in June to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall uprising in honor of those who have and continue to work to achieve equal justice and opportunity for LGBTQ+ Americans. To give a brief history, the Stonewall uprising occurred on June 28, 1969 as police raided and arrested patrons of a popular LGBTQ+ gathering place in Greenwich Village, NYC. Whereas previously they may have complied, trans women of color decided on that day to resist arrest, leading others to protest the harassment and effectively igniting the spark for the modern gay rights movement in the United States. As such, this month, we respectfully ask our NAAAP Boston community to acknowledge the LGBTQ+ community as a part of our mission to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Boston Pride - the organization that oversees the annual Pride Parade - has drawn scrutiny for BIPOC and Trans voice erasure and an unwillingness to create an actively inclusive space for all members of the LGBTQ+ community. As a result, we have connected with Pride 4 the People (P4TP) - a group dedicated to equitable inclusion for all within the LGBTQ+ Boston community - and we will be supporting their mission by not participating in Boston Pride 2021 events. As an alternative, we will join the Trans Resistance March on June 12th at 10:30am in Nubian Square (2400 Washington St, Boston). Please come join us to celebrate Pride Month - all are welcome!
To all our LGBTQ+ members of NAAAP Boston, we affirm your existence and proudly voice our love and support for you. To all our allies, we thank you for supporting us in working to achieve acceptance and belonging in our homes, our work, and our city. It is only through our collective effort that we can create an inclusive environment that celebrates our differences and allows us to freely be who we are.
We cordially invite everyone to join the events being hosted by the NAAAP Boston PRIDE team this month, as well as contribute to our Pride Month Collection/photo campaign (info below). If you have any questions or would like to collaborate with us, please reach out via Slack or email us at pride@naaapboston.org!
With Love,
Chris Yang
Associate Director of PRIDE, NAAAP Boston
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The Lavender Bamboo Ceiling:
LGBT+ x AAPI Perspectives on the Workplace
Jason Ng (he/him)
I’ll admit, it sounds weirdly specific to say I lead a group dedicated to LGBT+ Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) professionals. But on the heels of AAPI Heritage Month, in the thick of the growing #stopasianhate movement, and marching through Pride Month, this is our moment and we have a unique story to share.
I write this piece to show you what I’ve gathered as common themes that affect LGBT+ AAPI individuals in the workplace. These stem from conversations with various folks I’ve met through my life and career, from personal experiences, and from my own NAAAP PRIDE team and community...
"What is the context that you are actively constructing as a coworker/mentor/leader for your LGBT+ colleagues? What barriers to inclusion are you deconstructing within — your unconscious biases, behaviors, and blind spots? As an ally, you can build spaces where authenticity is the norm, where tokenism is obsolete, where stereotypes are managed healthily, and where coming out is just a conversation and not the conversation. Pride belongs to all of us.
Happy Pride Month!"
Photos from the TransMA Resistance Rally 2021
