Division of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Celebrating June Pride Month

June 3, 2025

Dear Brandeis Community,

June is Pride Month, a time for all of us to come together to celebrate and learn more about our LGBTQIA+* community.

The original organizers of Pride chose June to pay homage to the Stonewall Uprising, which helped spark the modern gay rights movement in the United States. The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, forceful demonstrations by members of the LGBTQIA+ community in response to a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in New York City’s Greenwich Village. Pride celebrations in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City began in 1970, when they were organized as a political backlash against police persecution of gay and lesbian people. LGBTQIA+ community members joined forces to demand that city officials and police departments leave them in peace — demanding their right to safe gathering places. In subsequent years, Pride parades and celebrations have become key community events across the country for LGBTQIA+ folks and their allies. In many cities where the LGBTQIA+ community faced systemic discrimination, elected officials and other local leaders now march to demonstrate their support and solidarity.

Here at Brandeis, we invite you to engage with the Gender and Sexuality Center which is a resource center for all Brandeis students interested in LGBTQIA2S+ and other issues related to gender and sexuality. We would also like to highlight our Brandeis Faculty and Staff Pride Alliance which has been a source of support for all employees interested in LGBTQIA+ issues. Accordingly, we invite everyone to participate in Pride events sponsored by Brandeis and local communities this month.

Brandeis Faculty and Staff Pride Alliance - Pride Mixer
99 Restaurant, 110 South Street, Waltham
June 26, 5 - 7 p.m.
This drop-in event is generously sponsored and supported by the Brandeis Faculty and Staff Pride Alliance, the Division of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, and the Gender and Sexuality Center. Appetizers will be provided, and a cash bar will be available. Attendees are responsible for purchasing their own beverages. Please RSVP in advance. The Pride Mixer is open to all members of our Brandeis community.

Off-Campus Pride Events

We hope you will join us in celebrating Pride this year!

In community,

Jamie Wire
Director of the Gender and Sexuality Center

Yasmine Vera
Museum Educator and Student Docent Program Administrator
Brandeis Faculty and Staff Pride Alliance Chair

Lee Bitsóí
Vice President of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
Associate Research Professor of Health: Science, Society and Policy

*Reference guide to the LGBTQIA+ acronyms:

  • L — Lesbian
  • G — Gay
  • B — Bisexual
  • T — Transgender
  • Q — Queer or Questioning
  • I — Intersex
  • A — Asexual
  • + — Including but not limited to Pansexual, Demisexual, Ally, Non-Binary, and Genderqueer