Surviving Together | Queer Holocaust Survivor Margot Heuman(n) | Pride Month | USC Shoah Foundation

Jun 1, 2023 | “You have to have it within yourself, and whatever comes from the outside is secondary. You can cope with it, if you have someone you care for, if you have certain principles you abide by, and if you do what you feel is right and not what the world tells you to do. I think that’s more important than anything else.”

In the Theresienstadt ghetto, teenage Margot Heuman(n) entered a romantic relationship with a girl named Dita. After being deported to Auschwitz, Margot and Dita continued their romance in the camp, and survived together.

When Margot Heuman(n) told us her story in 1994, she censored the nature of her and Dita’s relationship. More than two decades later, Margot was able to come out to her family. Many online resources now cite Margot as being “the first queer Jewish woman known to have survived Nazi concentration camps” (Wikipedia contributors. "Margot Heumann." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 25 Mar. 2023. Web. 31 May. 2023).

To celebrate the first day of Pride Month, we honor LGBTQ+ survivors of the Holocaust, and recall how difficult living - and speaking - candidly was until recent years. In our Visual History Archive, which contains interviews with over 55,000 interviewees, only ~10 interviewees openly identify as queer in their interviews. Margot and Dita remained close until Dita’s passing in 2011. Margot passed away in May 2022.

Protest over Pride Month Assembly at Los Angeles School Turns Violent

THE GUARDIAN: Reports of fights breaking out over a book reading about inclusive families forced police officers to separate clashing groups

A protest over a Pride month assembly at a Los Angeles elementary school reportedly broke out into fights, forcing police officers to separate groups of protesters and counter-protesters who clashed over the school’s teaching of LGBTQ+ issues.

Tensions at Saticoy elementary school, part of the Los Angeles unified school district, have been rising since last month over the Pride assembly the school has planned to hold on Friday.

The event included a reading of The Great Big Book of Families, which includes details about different family structures including single parents, LGBTQ+ parents, grandparents and foster parents, said Kelly Gonez, a member of the Los Angeles unified school district board. » | Guardian staff and agencies | Saturday, June 3, 2023

Brands Embracing Pride Month Confront a Volatile Political Climate

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Target became the latest company to adjust plans for marketing supportive of the L.G.B.T.Q. community after it faced backlash from some customers.

For years, Pride Month, the annual celebration for L.G.B.T.Q. Americans, has afforded companies a marketing opportunity to tap into the buying power of a group with growing financial, political and social clout.

Yet, while these efforts have always faced some opposition, brands and marketers say the country’s current political environment — especially around transgender issues — has made this year’s campaigns more complicated. This week Target became the latest company to rethink its approach after facing criticism for its Pride collection, which included clothes and books for children that drew outrage from some on the right.

The retailer moved its Pride displays — including rainbow-striped collared shirts, yellow hoodies reading “Not a Phase” and baby clothing and accessories — from the entrances of some Target stores around the country and placed them in the back. » | Jordyn Holman and Julie Creswell | Thursday, May 25, 2023

Biden Gives Speech Marking Pride Month

Streamed live on Jun 15, 2022 • President Joe Biden is delivering remarks to celebrate Pride Month and will also give an update regarding his targeting of some ‘hateful’ anti-LGBT+ laws.

He will sign an executive order to protect LGBT+ Americans following a wave of discriminatory legislation and Republican-led measures targeting transgender healthcare.

Talking to Loved Ones about 'Coming Out'

Jun 13, 2022 • Clinical psychologist Dr. Richard Levak joined FOX 5 on Monday to discuss how to talk to loved ones about "coming out" as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.

Pastor Who Wants Death Penalty for Gays Rails against Pride Month

“I don’t understand why we celebrate what used to be a crime not long ago,” Jonathan Shelley said at an Arlington City Council meeting in Texas.
ADVOCATE: A minister who preaches that homosexuality merits the death penalty railed against Pride Month at the Arlington City Council meeting in Texas this week, saying the Bible teaches “we should hate pride, not celebrate it.”

“God’s already ruled that murder, adultery, witchcraft, rape, bestiality, and homosexuality are crimes worthy of capital punishment,” Jonathan Shelley, pastor of Stedfast Baptist Church in Fort Worth, said at the council meeting Tuesday.

The council was taking public comments on whether to proclaim June as Pride Month. It has issued such proclamations for the past several years, TV station KERA reports. Arlington is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, and Shelley said he has church members from Arlington and does business there.

“I don’t understand why we celebrate what used to be a crime not long ago,” Shelley said at the meeting, in an appearance captured on video and shared on social media. He cited passages in the Bible condemning gay sex and noted that the Texas antisodomy law is still on the books, although the Supreme Court’s 2003 decision in Lawrence v. Texas has made it unenforceable.”

He claimed that by celebrating Pride, the city is promoting “disease and AIDS,” and he falsely claimed that LGBTQ+ people are child molesters. “They say that they love so much, but they hate children,” he said. “They hate Baptists, they hate Christianity, and they hate God.”

He called on the city to eliminate its LGBTQ+ liaison and recommended that everyone in attendance watch a film he directed, The Sodomite Deception, “which would clearly illustrate what the Bible says on this issue, providing actual stats instead of bullying people.” » | Trudy Ring | Friday, May 27, 2022