Send a card, Send Love to Orlando!

Orlando Meme

FINAL DAYS! Thru tomorrow Proudly Yours is donating 50% of all card sales to the Support Victims of Pulse Shooting GoFundMe.com page. The page has already raised over $6 million for victims of the June 12 massacre at Pulse nightclub but needs so much more. Equality Florida, “is collecting contributions via this GoFundMe page to support every single victim of the horrific shooting at Orlando’s Pulse Nightclub. This includes victims’ families, survivors, and those in the club who may not have suffered physical injury but in need of support. ”

And you can do your part by purchasing a Proudly Yours greeting card! Buy a card here or here and we’ll give half of the proceeds to Equality Florida. But hurry as the offer ends tomorrow!

Monday Meme: Reduce

bayard rustin meme

Is there a better time than now during Pride month to celebrate LGBT leaders and activists? We think not! Today’s Monday Meme celebrates a true pioneer in not just the civil rights movement but in the gay rights movement too. Bayard Rustin is best remembered as the organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, one of the largest nonviolent protests ever held in the United States. Rustin was inspired by Gandhi’s protest techniques and brought them to the American civil rights movement, while helping Martin Luther King, Jr. become an international symbol of peace and nonviolence.Being an openly gay man in an incredibly homophobic era, Rustin was beaten, imprisoned and cast out of huge leadership positions. His behind the scenes work during the civil rights movement in the 1960’s gave way for a role as a public advocate of LGBT causes in the 1980’s. Rustin was honored posthumously with a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013 by President Obama.

Celebrate Pride and do something good for the community! Now thru June 30, Proudly Yours will donate 50% of the proceeds of all card sales to the Pulse Victims Fund. 

Skittles Gives Its Rainbow to London Pride Goers

https://youtu.be/EmDzJcpeips

Skittles, the candy famous for inviting us to “taste the rainbow”, has temporarily lost its color. This weekend, the brand is handing out black and white packages of its formerly Technicolor candy. In a clever online commercial, the company says, “You have the rainbow … we have the rainbow … and usually that’s just hunky-dory. But this Pride, only one rainbow deserves to be the centre of attention – yours. And we’re not going to be the ones to steal your rainbow thunder, no siree. That’s why this weekend, we’re giving up our rainbow.” In the spirit of letting Pride’s rainbow shine, a colourless Skittles float will “join in the Pride in London parade on Saturday and Skittles will be giving out monochrome packets along the route,” according to Creative Review. “Ads will also be displayed on outdoor sites along the parade route and a social media campaign will run online using the hashtag #onerainbow, with an animated version of the ad created for Facebook and Twitter.”

What a delicious and inventive way for a brand to celebrate Pride!

 

WATCH: President Obama Announces Stonewall National Monument

Yesterday, the White House released a video and press release announcing the Stonewall National Monument. From the press release:

Today, President Obama will designate a new national monument at the historic site of the Stonewall Uprising in New York City to honor the broad movement for LGBT equality. The new Stonewall National Monument will protect the area where, on June 28, 1969, a community’s uprising in response to a police raid sparked the modern LGBT civil rights movement in the United States.

The designation will create the first official National Park Service unit dedicated to telling the story of LGBT Americans, just days before the one year anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision guaranteeing marriage equality in all 50 states. Additionally, in celebration of the designation and New York City’s Pride festival, the White House, in coordination with the National Park Foundation and the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, is releasing a video that will be played on the billboards in Times Square on Saturday, June 25, beginning at 12:00pm ET.

The new Stonewall National Monument will permanently protect Christopher Park, a historic community park at the intersection of Christopher Street, West 4th Street and Grove Street directly across from the Stonewall Inn in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. The monument’s boundary encompasses approximately 7.7 acres of land, including Christopher Park, the Stonewall Inn, and the surrounding streets and sidewalks that were the site of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising.

Today’s designation follows years of strong support from local officials, organizations, members of Congress and citizens in New York City and across the country, as demonstrated recently at a public meeting held in New York City in May. The National Park Foundation is also today announcing that it will support the establishment of a local Friends Group to support the monument and that it will work with local and national organizations and the community to raise funding for dedicated National Park Service personnel, a temporary ranger station and visitor center, research and materials, exhibits, community outreach, and public education.

Put Stonewall on your must-visit places the next time you’re in New York!

Through June 30, Proudly Yours is donating 50% of card sales to victims of the Orlando tragedy. Buy them here!

Rainbow Flag Flies at Houses of Parliament for First Time

house of parliament rainbowOn Tuesday, the rainbow flag flew high above the UK’s Houses of Parliament for the very first time in celebration for London’s upcoming Pride weekend.  Per Pink News David Geary, Head of Political Engagement for Pride in London, said:

“It was in the Houses of Parliament that homosexuality was decriminalised, equal consent laws were introduced, the bigoted Section 28 was repealed, where civil partnership and ultimately equal marriage were adopted. This powerful institution, right at the heart of British democracy has become a powerful tool for equality in recent times.The rainbow flag flying above serves as a testament to this legacy and a reflection of how far we have come as a community – with more LGBT+ politicians than any other country in the world.”

The flag was gifted to Parliament from LGBT group ParliOUT and will fly through June 26. ParliOut will also be marching in the Pride Parade this weekend. Some 75+ Parliamentary staff members have signed up to march in the parade. They will be wearing Houses of Parliament t-shirts along with white roses in memory Member of Parliament Jo Cox, who was killed earlier this month. Rob Truelove and Jenny Radcliffe, Co-Chairs of ParliOUT said: “On behalf of all ParliOUT members, we would like to thank Mr Speaker and the Lord Speaker for their full support, as well as all ParliOUT members who generously donated money to buy the LGBT+ rainbow flag as a gift to Parliament. While we recognise that there is still more to do, this is a very positive symbol of how far we have come in becoming a more inclusive workplace.”