The 52nd annual celebration of LGBTQIA+ Pride Month is about to begin on June 1, 2022!
Join AACPL as we honor the legacy of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, queer, intersex, asexual, pansexual, nonbinary, et cetera. We seek to make all such individuals feel welcome, heard, and supported in our allyship.
As with many months designated for awareness, the celebration began as just one day – “Gay Rights Day” and eventually expanded to include a full week and later one full month. The catalyst for the celebration was a march in June 1970 to mark the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in New York City.
Although the month of June has been marked each year since by fun and festivities, such as Pride Parades, it also marks a sober time in which there are ongoing demonstrations for equal rights and treatment for LGBTQIA+ people, and ceremonies of remembrance for those who have passed away due to crimes disproportionately impacting those communities, such as HIV/AIDS and hate crimes.
Additionally, although Pride has been celebrated for more than half a century, the iconic rainbow flag so often associated with the month was only introduced as part of the movement in 1978 by Gilbert Baker, friend of gay politician Harvey Milk. Furthermore, Pride Month has only been officially recognized by U.S. leadership since 1999 under President Clinton.
Pride Month celebrations and activism have undoubtedly contributed to societal change over time, both in the U.S. and across the globe. Indeed, momentum built exponentially between 2004 when Massachusetts became the first state to legalize gay marriage, and 2015 when the U.S. Supreme Court made gay marriage legal across the country. As of 2022, 30 countries have ruled in favor of legal same sex marriage. But there is still a long way to go in protecting all people of various sexual and gender identities.
If you'd like to learn more about LGBTQIA+ Pride Month, we invite you to dive into all the free resources your Anne Arundel County Public Library has to offer. Enjoy our curated list of related events below, as well as our book lists for adults, teens and young adults, and kids!
Events This Month
Fly Your Flag – Wednesday, June 1 at 4 PM at Crofton Library -- Learn some basic hand sewing skills and create your own personal flag. Design a flag or pennant that represents who you are, and fly it with pride!
Teen Movie Night! Love, Simon – Wednesday, June 1 from 5:30 – 8 PM at Busch Annapolis Library -- Watch this hit romantic comedy in which gay teenager Simon decides that everyone deserves a great love story including him. Follow Simon as he explores love, friendship and high school. There will be snacks.
Mountain Road Library’s Pride Month Chalk the Walk – Monday, June 6 from 3:30 – 6 PM at Mountain Road Library -- Celebrate Pride in Pasadena by joining with One Pasadena in chalking the sidewalk around the library with rainbows, joy, and love!
MORE! Mountain Road Library’s Pride Month Chalk the Walk – Tuesday, June 7 at 10 AM thru Saturday, June 11 at 4 PM at Mountain Road Library -- Continue to celebrate Pride in Pasadena by chalking the sidewalk around the library with rainbows, joy, and love!
LGBTQ Virtual Book Club – Wednesday, June 8 at 7 PM on Zoom – Join this monthly LGBTQ Book Club to discuss Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo. All are welcome to attend to discuss queer fiction and nonfiction titles. This is a safe and healthy space to enjoy and discuss LGBTQIA+ themes in a variety of genres.
Rainbow Family Storytime – Thursday, June 9 from 10:15 – 10:45 AM and again from 11:15 – 11:45 AM at Odenton Library – Families of all kinds are invited for stories and songs of diversity, love, and friendship. All are welcome!
Queer Reads Teen Book Club – Thursday, June 9 at 6 PM at Mountain Road Library – Share some of your favorite queer reads. Anything at all - comics, histories, poetry, essays, fiction, manga, fan fiction, ANYTHING! So, come join a bunch of LGBTQIA+ fam and allies and discuss some great books over some delicious pizza!
Pride Trivia – Thursday, June 9 at 6:30 PM at Discoveries: The Library at the Mall -- Pride yourself on your LGBTQIA+ trivia knowledge? Test your wits with us for bragging rights during Pride Month this summer! All are welcome!
DIY Pride Flags! – Friday, June 10 from 3 – 4:30 PM at Busch Annapolis Library – Come make your own Pride flag to celebrate June! Use paints and fabrics to create a masterpiece to proclaim that love is love and everyone should be themselves.
Rainbow Family Storytime – Saturday, June 11 from 11 – 11:45 AM at Glen Burnie Library – Families of all kinds are invited for stories and songs of diversity, love, and friendship. All are welcome! Join us out on the lawn (weather permitting) as we celebrate love in all its forms with a fun family storytime.
Nick and Charlie Forever!! Heartstopper Fan Party – Saturday, June 11 from 1:30 – 3 PM at Busch Annapolis Library – Heartstopper (based on the best selling graphic novel series by Alice Oseman) is the smash hit TV series of the season! Come fall in love with Nick, Charlie, and the whole gang all over again. We will discuss the first two volumes of the series, as well as the first season of the show. Talk about your favorite characters. We will be watching reaction videos, bloopers, cast interviews, and comedy edits on a big screen. Bring your fan art and fan fiction to show to other fans. There will be snacks.
Express Pride with a Collage Self-Portrait – Saturday, June 11 from 2 – 3 PM at Brooklyn Park Library – We welcome all teens to a safe space to make art. Experiment with collage techniques to create a self-portrait expressing pride in who you are.
Park and Pride – Monday, June 13 from 4 – 6 PM at Mountain Road Library -- Decorate your car with pride and take part in the parked parade, pride crafts, storytime, dance party, chalk the walk, and more! If you wish to take part in the parked parade, please sign up, as spaces are limited to 20. You are encouraged to do some decorating at home, but if you would rather decorate your car at the event, we will have limited supplies available. People's Choice awards for the Pride cars will be announced at 5:30pm at the beginning of the dance party.
Liquid Rainbow – Tuesday, June 14 from 4 – 4:30 PM at Brooklyn Park Library – Celebrate the first day of summer by making your own liquid rainbow! Discover the relative densities of colored liquids to create a rainbow pattern in a test tube.
Creation Station Pride Palooza – Wednesday, June 15 from 3:30 – 5 PM at Odenton Library – Join us to create your own pride flag, design your own stickers, use our green screen, and so much more!
Pride in Action: How to Strengthen Your Allyship with the LGBTQ Community -- Wednesday, June 15 at 6:30 PM on Zoom – What can I do when I witness hurtful language against the LGBTQIA+ community? How can I affirm my transgender and non-binary family and friends? How can I be a better advocate for LGBTQIA+ inclusion? Many of us have questions about how we can take action in support of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer communities. Jabari Lyles (he/they), an award-winning LGBTQIA+ community leader, educator, and consultant, joins us for a special Pride month conversation about deepening our allyship with the LGBTQIA+ community. Hosted by Discoveries Library staff.
Rainbow Family Storytime – Saturday, June 18 at 11 AM at Riviera Beach Library – Stories and songs celebrating friendship.
Rainbow Reading: LGBTQ+ Teen and Family Book Club – Saturday, June 18 from 12 – 2 PM at Severn Library -- Join us at our seasonal book club for LGBTQIA+ teens and their families where each season we will be reading a title with a LGBTQIA+ theme and discussing it. The goal is to give LGBTQIA+ identifying teens a safe space to create connections and to empower families to be understanding, supportive allies. This season, we will be reading Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender. Lunch will be provided; come join us as we snack and chat.
Rainbow Family Storytime – Thursday, June 23 from 10:30 – 11 AM at Broadneck Library -- Celebrate LGBTQIA+ Pride Month with stories and songs of diversity, love, and friendship. All are welcome!
Rainbow Family Storytime – Friday, June 24 at 10:30 AM at Discoveries: The Library at the Mall -- Celebrate LGBTQIA+ Pride Month with stories and songs of diversity, love, and friendship. All are welcome!
Drag Queen Storytime – Saturday, June 25 at 12 PM at Brooklyn Park Library – Our favorite Drag Queen, Balena Canto, returns to the library for an in-person storytime - sharing books on diversity, acceptance, creativity, and love. Wear your dancing shoes and whatever else makes you feel beautiful for this special event celebrating Pride Month.
Wear Your Pride – Saturday, June 25 at 2 PM at Severn Library – Join us as we celebrate Pride Month and learn to feel empowered by your amazing, unique, authentic self! Teens and tweens are invited to make personalized bracelets to represent the pride they have in being their best authentic selves.
LGBTQ+ Book Discussion – Saturday, June 25 from 2 – 3:30 PM at Odenton Library – Read any book written by a LGBTQIA+ author and come ready to share! See the display at the Odenton Library for books to checkout!
Mountain Road’s Adult Book Club: You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson – Tuesday, June 28 at 7 PM at Mountain Road Library -- "Liz Lighty has always believed she's too black, too poor, too awkward to shine in her small, rich, prom-obsessed midwestern town. But it's okay -- Liz has a plan that will get her out of Campbell, Indiana, forever: attend the uber-elite Pennington College, play in their world-famous orchestra, and become a doctor." - Goodreads