Pride 2022: Listening. Acting. Progressing.
This article was contributed by Kaylee Misch, program manager for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) at TD SYNNEX.
Happy Pride Month! Every year, June is an opportunity for people around the world to recognize, involve and celebrate members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer/questioning and transgender (LGBTQ+) community. It’s a time to listen, learn and continue advocating for LGBTQ+ equality.
While June is considered the dedicated month to commemorate Pride, we support and advocate for our co-workers, peers, friends, family and everyone around the world to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community throughout the year. After scoring 100% on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index, we know we can’t stop there; our Spectrum Business Resource Group (BRG) presents a platform for the recruitment, retention, enablement and advancement of members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community while ensuring our company is a safe and welcoming place. Spectrum ensures the voices and experiences of our LGBTQ+ co-workers are heard and allyship is expanded throughout the company and in our communities.
Some history: How Pride started
Pride didn’t start as a parade; Pride established its roots in the Stonewall Uprising riots in Manhattan. On June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village. The ensuing protests became a pivotal turning point and inspiration for many of the LGBTQ+ rights movements and pride marches that you see today.
These celebrations allow us to reflect on the community’s history, including both the challenges and victories, as well as how far we’ve come on the journey to inclusion.
In solidarity: Raising the Progress Pride flag around the world
Throughout June, we will be raising the Progress Pride flag at 28 locations around the world. The Progress Pride flag was designed in 2018 by Daniel Quasar, who added five arrow-shaped lines to the original six-colored Rainbow Flag, which was widely recognized as the symbol of LGBTQ+ rights and social movements.
The Progress Pride flag now incorporates black and brown stripes to represent marginalized LGBTQ+ communities of color, along with pink, light blue and white stripes to represent trans, gender non-binary, intersex and those across the gender spectrum.
Be on the lookout: Pride events this month
Throughout the month of June, Spectrum will be participating in Pride events around the world. Spectrum leadership gathered insightful feedback from co-workers and have built an exciting lineup of events, activities and recognition, including:
- The Upstate Black Pride Unity March and Festival in Greenville, SC — Spectrum and our Beacon BRG are partnering to co-lead participation, a first collaboration of its kind for TD SYNNEX. We will serve as the presenting sponsor of the event.
- Pride Toronto– TD SYNNEX will be participating in this event for the first time, sponsoring one of the largest events of its kind in the world.
- St. Pete Pride — We will be a sponsor for the largest Pride event in Florida.
Through the efforts of Spectrum and our co-workers, we will be able to come together to celebrate and honor what pride is all about: the right to be proud of who you are. Although we are not all the same, we can all be together.
