Applauds Library for Pride Month

To the editor,

I would like to acknowledge and applaud the Dayton Memorial Library for their book displays and other readers’ advisory efforts for Pride month. Libraries are for everyone, and I’m happy to see our library recognizing that “everyone” includes members of the LGBTQ community, their families, and their allies. 

The first Pride march was June 28, 1970. It was held to commemorate the first anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. It was common then for police to raid gay bars and beat and arrest the people inside. Trans women and drag queens were especially visible and took the brunt of the abuse. The Stonewall Uprising marked the first time LGBTQ people banded together and fought back against the treatment they received at the hands of their government. Pride is a celebration of freedom.

Transgender and gender non-conforming people are at least 4 times as likely to suffer violent attack as cis-gender people. That number rises exponentially for transgender women of color. LGBTQ youth are subject to bullying and are at risk for suicide at least twice the rate of straight and cis-gender youth, and they are almost 5 times as likely to attempt suicide. 

We know that affirmation and empathy are powerful tools when modeled by adults in the community. LGBTQ children attending LGBTQ affirming schools experience 30% less bullying than kids in non-affirming schools face. It is our responsibility as adults to create a culture of acceptance and empathy. 

Dayton is not the most welcoming place for the LGBTQ community. You only need to look at our local newspaper and social media groups to see that. But Dayton is home to gay kids, trans people, queer adults, gay parents, gender non-conforming citizens. They are your friends and neighbors. They live here, they pay taxes here, their kids go to school in Dayton. They use the library, and they deserve to see themselves represented on its shelves as much as straight, cis-gendered citizens do. 

One month of the year, we take time to celebrate our LGBTQ friends, family, and neighbors. We affirm them, we love them, we celebrate them, we learn from them. What does affirmation look like? At the very, very least, it looks like a book display in the library that offers reading for, by, and about LGBTQ people. The great thing about libraries is that there’s something there for everyone. The Pride book display doesn’t speak to you? Ok. You can walk right past it to shelves upon shelves of books that will.

Amy Rosenberg

Dayton, WASH.