Happy Pride, John!
June marks Pride Month, a month-long celebration for LGBTQIA+ folks to celebrate who they are.
Two years ago, NIAC launched #IAPride, our campaign to promote acceptance and inclusion for LGBTQIA+ Iranian Americans. We created iapride.com, a website filled with resources and stories for our community to learn, educate, and reflect on our community's relationship with LGBTQIA+ rights. As a bisexual Iranian American, I'm proud to work at an organization like NIAC that celebrates the diversity of our community and lifts up LGBTQIA+ Iranian Americans.
LEARN MORE ABOUT #IAPRIDE [[link removed]]
It is important to recognize that work still needs to be done within our communities to create acceptance for queer Iranian Americans. As parents, family, friends, and community members, Pride is an issue for every Iranian American and our allies.
If we continue to view LGBTQIA+ issues as separate from our own, not only do we stop creating solidarity between marginalized groups, but we also isolate the queer Iranian Americans in our community. That's why we can't stop advocating for the civil rights of ALL Americans, including LGBTQIA+ folks.
This issue is personal to me as a proud, queer Iranian-American woman and organizer. I can't leave out my identities from the work that I do, spotlighting the issues that matter most to us as Iranian Americans. That's why I'll continue to be an advocate for my Iranian-American community, my queer community, and my community that combines the two.
Even if this is your first interaction with Pride Month or your twentieth, please take the time to listen to our stories or read resources. Please visit iapride.com [[link removed]] to learn more about what we can do to build even more community within our already beautiful community. The work doesn't stop there, but it's a start.
In solidarity,
Donna Farvad
National Organizing Director, NIAC
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