Pride Month 2026 - Women of Fisheries

We wanted to take the opportunity to wish our LGBTQIA2S+ community members a Happy Pride Month.

Some ask why celebrating Pride is important. The answer, like many things in life, is complex, and may vary depending on who you ask.

Pride Month is about so much more than rainbows and parades, while those are an important component, it is also about a celebration of love, community, resilience, and the fight for equality.

Finding community

Many members of the LGBTQ+ community can feel isolated, especially in more rural and/or conservative areas, depending on their family situation, and their school or work situation. Pride Month serves as a gathering space to find others in the community, to celebrate each other, and to feel seen and safe.

Honoring history

Celebrating Pride Month commemorates the Stonewall Rebellion. In 1969 police raided the Stonewall Inn in New York City. The patrons fought back, sparking several days of protests that is considered the beginning of the modern Gay Rights movement.

Promoting visibility and acceptance

Being openly LGBTQ+ has historically, and in many places still is, not been readily accepted. Many have suffered persecution, societal stigma, loss of family and jobs, and in extreme cases violence. Pride Month encourages people to be visible and openly celebrate who they are in safe and affirming spaces.

Continuing to fight for rights

As mentioned above, while there has been a lot of legal progress, there is still work to be done. Members of the community still face discrimination, persecution, and violence. Pride Month is a rallying time for advocacy for legislative change.

Because of continued discrimination, criminalization, and efforts in legislatures to limit rights of LGBTQ+ individuals, the act of showing up openly helps to spread the message that we exist and that we will continue to advocate for our rights.

While there has been a lot of progress made for LGBTQ+ acceptance and rights over the last 50 years, sometimes it seems for every step forward there are one or more steps backwards. The current suite of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation at the federal level and in a number of states show that there is still work to do.