In June 1969, uprisings followed a police raid of the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, with members of the LGBTQ+ community taking to the streets in protest. The Stonewall Riots, as they became known, were a watershed moment in the fight for equal rights for the queer community and, today, each June is designated as Pride Month in countries around the world.
Last June, it was hoped that this year Trinity College School could kick off Pride Month with a community flag-raising event on campus, however, with government-mandated online learning still in place, our students once again are finding innovative ways to honour this important month. The Senior School’s Gender & Sexuality Alliance (GSA) is using social media to reach out to our global community and share information and insights on Pride and the continued efforts to ensure basic human rights and a sense of belonging are extended to members of the LGBTQ+ community at TCS and around the world.
The first social media posts note the history of the GSA at TCS and other schools, which began as the Gay-Straight Alliance and later broadened its name to be more inclusive. The GSA shared its mission statement, “to create a safe and non-judgemental school environment, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity…to fight homophobia on campus and in our community, solve problems pertaining to LGBTQ+ people and issues, and educate members of the TCS community. Together, we will create a more welcoming and knowledgeable school community.” This year, the GSA has worked to achieve these aims through programs including the creation of pronoun buttons and organizing a workshop for faculty. As well, the evening of Tuesday, June 8th, a discussion of LGBTQ+ issues was held with the small group of boarding students still on campus at this time.
While we are far apart, the Pride flag flies high over TCS, and our rainbow crosswalk awaits the return to campus of our students and staff, as we walk together, building a school community where all feel welcomed, included and heard.
