The Office of Student Inclusion & Diversity and the LGBTQIA+ Committee at UNC Pembroke recently announced events for Pride Month to be held April 1-30.

Pride Month aims to recognize the accomplishments and contributions of individuals who self-identify as LGBTQIA+ ((lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual or aromantic, and other gender and sexual identities). Pride Month is celebrated nationally in the United States in June. It traces back to the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan–a tipping point that changed LGBTQIA+ activism and the Gay Rights Liberation Movement in the United States. The first Pride March was held in New York City in 1970 on the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising.

Details for virtual events listed below can be found at uncp.edu/pridemonth.

UNCP’s events to be held during Pride Month include:

• April 3-28: View and explore the Pride Display in Livermore Library, available in person and virtually.
• April 3-14: View the UNCP Pride exhibit outside and at the west entrance to the Chavis Student Center.
• April 10: The annual BravePride Festival will be held in the University Center Annex Assembly Room from noon to 2 p.m. The festival will feature several LGBTQIA-related vendors, campus, and community organizations, blackout poetry, trivia, and music. The first 175 students will receive a free BravePride Festival shirt to decorate.
• April 11: Join us for Trans 101 education at 3:30 p.m. in Old Main 124 to learn more about the transgender and gender non-conforming community, including a functional knowledge of terminology, the gender and sexuality paradigms and ways to support the transgender community as an active ally and advocate. The education lasts one hour. Students can register via BraveConnect. Faculty and staff can register by contacting the Office of Student Inclusion and Diversity at shauser@uncp.edu or 910.521.4744.
• April 12: A LGBTQIA+ Roundtable will be held at 4 p.m. in Chavis Student Center 208. We encourage our LGBTQIA+ students to join us to discuss how we can better serve and support the community through programming, resources, and accommodations. Sponsored by the Division of Student Affairs and the Office of Student Inclusion & Diversity.
• April 13: Safe Zone Education for students will be held at 3:30 p.m. in Old Main 124 to learn more about the LGBTQIA+ community, including a functional knowledge of terminology, the gender and sexuality paradigms and ways to support the LGBTQIA+ community as an active ally and advocate. The education lasts two hours. Students can register via BraveConnect
• April 17: Safe Zone Education for faculty and staff will begin at 1:30 p.m. in Old Main 124 to learn more about the LGBTQIA+ community, including a functional knowledge of terminology, the gender and sexuality paradigms and ways to support the LGBTQIA+ community as an active ally and advocate. The education lasts two hours. Faculty and staff can register by contacting the Office of Student Inclusion and Diversity at shauser@uncp.edu or 910.521.4744.
• April 17: Attend a panel of students, scholars and staff as they facilitate a Brave Dialogue discussion on the impact of recent legislation, particularly Senate Bill 49 and House Bill 43 recently introduced in the North Carolina General Assembly, on the LGBTQIA+ community. The discussion begins at 3:30 p.m. in Old Main 124.
• April 19: Join the student organization Spectrum and its members for Quoffee Hour (Queer Coffee Hour) to learn more about the organization and connect with others on campus. The event begins at 2:15 p.m. at Starbucks.
• April 24: A panel of students, faculty and staff will discuss gender identity at 3 p.m. as they experience it and offer a space for students to learn more about the gender identity spectrum. Join us virtually via Webex at https://uncp.webex.com/meet/abigail.reiter.
• April 26: The Lavender Graduation recognizes graduates who self-identify as LGBTQIA+. The ceremony begins at 6:30 p.m.

Pride Month is sponsored by the Office of Student Inclusion and Diversity, the LGBTQIA+ Committee, and Spectrum. For more information, visit uncp.edu/pridemonth or contact the Office of Student Inclusion and Diversity at 910.521.6508 or osid@uncp.edu.