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20 Quotes About LGBTQ+ Pride

June is Pride Month in the United States — a time to celebrate LGBTQ+ heroes, history, and culture. It’s held this particular month in remembrance of the Stonewall Riots, a historic clash between the gay community and local police that occurred in New York City in June 1969. This was a time when same-sex sexual activity was still a punishable crime in almost all U.S. states, and many were regularly arrested and blackmailed because of their sexuality.

The Stonewall uprising began on June 28, 1969, when police raided a Greenwich Village gay bar, the Stonewall Inn. The LGBTQ community fought back, and the demonstrations sparked a global movement that continues into 2021. The first pride parades were held a year after Stonewall, and today pride celebrations aim to be an inclusive, diverse, and powerful acknowledgment of progress, ongoing activism, and, above all, love in all its forms. Celebrate Pride Month with these quotes about LGBTQ+ pride.

I am a strong, black, lesbian woman. Every single time I say it, I feel so much better.
Brittney Griner, the first openly gay athlete to sign with Nike

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Remember, bisexuality doesn't mean halfway between gay or straight. It is its own identity.
Actress Evan Rachel Wood, in celebration of Bi Visibility Day

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All of us who are openly gay are living and writing the history of our movement. We are no more — and no less — heroic than the suffragists and abolitionists of the 19th century; and the labor organizers, Freedom Riders, Stonewall demonstrators, and environmentalists of the 20th century.
Senator Tammy Baldwin, the first openly gay U.S. senator

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Being gay is a natural normal beautiful variation on being human. Period. End of subject.
Larry Kramer, journalist and activist

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I truly believe that every gay and lesbian person who has been lucky enough to survive the turmoil of growing up is a survivor.
Bob Paris, writer and activist

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When all Americans are treated as equal, no matter who they are or whom they love, we are all more free.
Barack Obama

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I think being gay is a blessing, and it's something I am thankful for every single day and have been my entire adult life.
Anderson Cooper

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I was not ladylike, nor was I manly. I was something else altogether. There were so many different ways to be beautiful.
Michael Cunningham, novelist and screenwriter

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Believing you are unworthy of love and belonging — that who you are authentically is a sin or is wrong — is deadly. Who you are is beautiful and amazing.
Laverne Cox, transgender actress

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Remember this, whoever you are, however you are, you are equally valid, equally justified, and equally beautiful.
June Dawson, actress and writer

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If I wait for someone else to validate my existence, it will mean that I’m shortchanging myself.
Zanele Muholi, activist and artist

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All identity labels are umbrella terms to some degree, but this term “bisexual” is not only serviceable but it is sufficient. And yes, it brings together a bunch of people who are maybe shades different from one another. And maybe that’s the beauty of labels: that they force you to be with other people and see the difference.
Charles M. Blow, journalist

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Love him and let him love you. Do you think anything else under heaven really matters?
James Baldwin, author

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I believe that telling our stories, first to ourselves and then to one another and the world, is a revolutionary act.
Janet Mock, transgender rights activist and author

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Nature made a mistake, which I have corrected.
Actress Christine Jorgensen, after becoming one of the first people in the world to undergo gender confirmation surgery

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The Lord is my Shepherd and he knows I’m gay.
Troy Perry, LGBTQ+ preacher

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To all trans youth out there, I would like to say respect yourself and be proud of who you are. All human beings deserve equal treatment no matter their gender identity or sexuality. To be perceived as what you say you are is a basic right.
Andreja Pejić, the world's first fully androgynous supermodel

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We should indeed keep calm in the face of difference, and live our lives in a state of inclusion and wonder at the diversity of humanity.
George Takei, actor and activist

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We are powerful because we have survived.
Audre Lorde, activist and poet

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Burst down those closet doors once and for all, and stand up, and start to fight.
Harvey Milk, politician and gay rights leader

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Photo credit: jimfeng/ iStock

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About the Author
Jennifer Billock
Jennifer is a writer, traveler, witch, and unapologetic Chicagoan. @jenniferbillock
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