Pride Within: The Responsibilities of the Sower

The National Campaign for Caribbean American Heritage Month Campaign began in 2004. The Bill House Resolution 71 was entered into Congress by Congresswoman Barbara Lee, with language provided by ICS Founder and President, Dr. Claire Nelson.  Since 2000, ICS has been leading the celebration of June as Caribbean American Heritage Month, taking up from where an Ad-Hoc Group of Caribbean Americans left off celebrating Caribbean Heritage Month in Washington DC in 1999.  The Bill passed the Congress in June of 2005, the US Senate in 2006, and a Proclamation making it official was signed  by President Bush on June 5, 2006. 
National Caribbean American Heritage Month has been established to recognize the historic relationship between the people of the Caribbean and the people of the United States as well as to recognize the many contributions of Caribbean immigrants and their descendants to the well-being of America.  From founding father Alexander Hamilton to Hip Hop star Wyclef Jean, National Caribbean American Heritage Month provides a focal point for ingathering of the diverse voices and peoples that constitute Caribbean America – a Mosaic of Cultures… a Montage of Peoples. 

Caribbean American Heritage Month external links

White House 
BellaOnline 

In June of 2000, Bill Clinton deemed the month of June, "Gay and Lesbian Pride Month." The month was chosen to remember a riot in 1969 at the Stonewall Inn in Manhattan that is thought to be the beginning of the gay liberation movement in the United States. This month is meant to recognize the impact Gay, Lesbian and Transgender individuals have had on the world. June is now the month of acceptance and the month to welcome diversity in communities regardless of sexual orientation. Gay and lesbian groups celebrate this special time with pride parades, picnics, parties, memorials for those lost from HIV and AIDS, and other group gathering events that attract thousands upon thousands of individuals. The international impact has been so influential to so many people that it makes for a perfect time for an organization to be a part of the festivities.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

Gay and lesbian Americans have made important and lasting contributions to our Nation in every field of endeavor. Too often, however, gays and lesbians face prejudice and discrimination; too many have had to hide or deny their sexual orientation in order to keep their jobs or to live safely in their communities.

In recent years, we have made some progress righting these wrongs. Since the Stonewall uprising in New York City more than 30 years ago, the gay and lesbian rights movement has united gays and lesbians, their families and friends, and all those committed to justice and equality in a crusade to outlaw discriminatory laws and practices and to protect gays and lesbians from prejudice and persecution.

I am proud of the part that my Administration has played to achieve these goals. Today, more openly gay and lesbian individuals serve in senior posts throughout the Federal Government than during any other Administration. To build on our progress, in 1998 I issued an Executive Order to prohibit discrimination in the Federal civilian workforce based on sexual orientation, and my Administration continues to fight for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would outlaw discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation.

Yet many challenges still lie before us. As we have learned from recent tragedies, prejudice against gays and lesbians can still erupt into acts of hatred and violence. I continue to call upon the Congress to pass meaningful hate crimes legislation to strengthen the Department of Justice’s ability to prosecute hate crimes committed due to the victim’s sexual orientation.

With each passing year the American people become more receptive to diversity and more open to those who are different from themselves. Our Nation is at last realizing that gays and lesbians must no longer be "strangers among friends," as the civil rights pioneer David Mixner once noted. Rather, we must finally recognize these Americans for what they are: our colleagues and neighbors, daughters and sons, sisters and brothers, friends and partners.

This June, recognizing the joys and sorrows that the gay and lesbian movement has witnessed and the work that remains to be done, we observe Gay and Lesbian Pride Month and celebrate the progress we have made in creating a society more inclusive and accepting of gays and lesbians. I hope that in this new millennium we will continue to break down the walls of fear and prejudice and work to build a bridge to understanding and tolerance, until gays and lesbians are afforded the same rights and responsibilities as all Americans.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2000 as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month. I encourage all Americans to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that celebrate our diversity and recognize the gay and lesbian Americans whose many and varied contributions have enriched our national life.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this second day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-fourth.

- William J. Clinton,
42nd President of the United States of America

Gay and Lesbian Pride Month external links

Interpride 
Gay Pride