Educating for Equality

44 years ago, on June 27, 1981, 300 people congregated in Five Points Plaza in Durham and made history. Inspired by Stonewall, attendees walked through downtown Durham in one of the state’s first visible movements of LGBTQ folks and allies congregating in public. Organized in part by Debbie Swanner and David Ransom, “Our Day Out” occurred in response to a hate crime at Little River in April 1981, set against the backdrop of the violence against the Greensboro Five in 1979. As Mab Segrest, an Our Day Out organizer and nationally-renowned lesbian writer recalls, “I think it was kind of a natural segue to go from lamenting a murder to a celebration of our lives.“ Although June 27, 1981 isn’t the date of the first official North Carolina Pride march – that title belongs to June 28, 1986, for the Triangle Lesbian & Gay Pride March – Our Day Out nonetheless stands as a watershed moment for LGBTQ+ acceptance in North Carolina, marked by grief, community, resilience, and a commitment to the future. To learn more, visit the Durham County Library’s durhamlgbtqhistory.org, the Pauli Murray Project’s durhamcivilrightsmap.org, and read The News & Observer’s history of Our Day Out titled “40 years of Pride in Durham: History of a moment that ignited a city’s LGBTQ movement” by Charlie Innis.

Today we honor Juneteenth ❤💛💚 Juneteenth is celebrated every June 19, honoring June 19, 1865, when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas learned they were legally free. This occurred over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. First celebrated in Texas, Juneteenth has since grown into a national day of reflection, education, and celebration of Black culture and history, and became a federal holiday in the United States in 2021. Whatever this day holds for you - joy, remembrance, celebration, or all three - we hope you commemorate Juneteenth with community and the space you need. ❤💛💚

Why don’t you pollen love with our Spring playlist? 🌷 This season our community really rose to the occasion and planted the seed for this Bouquet of Beats! Spanning every field, this playlist will have you saying “what in carnation?!” We’re not dandelion – you’ll want to listen clover and clover! 🌼 Got some ideas blooming for our Summer playlist? Let’s stalk about it! Find both the Spring playlist and summer submission planted in our linkTree! 🌳

Happy Pride Month from your friends at the UNC LGBTQ Center! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈 May this month be as joyful, reflective, freeing, and full as you need. Looking for things to do and to find community? Keep an eye on our Instagram this month and on our newsletter – sign up at the link in our bio or at our website at lgbtq.unc.edu! HAPPY PRIDE! 🏳️‍🌈 💗🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🖤🤍💗🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🖤🤍💗🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🖤🤍