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Celebrate Pride with the AFT
June is Pride Month, and at the AFT, we don’t just celebrate LGBTQIA+ people, we stand with them in the fight for dignity, safety and freedom. That fight is more urgent than ever.
This year, we’re up against a presidential administration that is actively trying to erase LGBTQIA+ people from public life. The policies that we are fighting against—from watering down anti-discrimination protections and weakening Title IX, to banning transgender people from the military and attacking DEI efforts and gender studies—are cruel, calculated and dangerous. At the local level, the same agenda is playing out in our school systems and libraries through book bans and efforts by school boards to censor the truth about LGBTQIA+ history and identity.
But at the AFT, these contributions cannot be erased. In fact, we want to amplify them. Working through our contracts and in the courts, and mobilizing out in the streets, we will continue to fight for the rights and safety of LGBTQIA+ people and families this month and every month. And beyond that, we will celebrate the freedom to be our authentic selves and stand in solidarity to ensure we can continue to enjoy that freedom. With World Pride 2025 taking place in Washington, D.C., where the AFT is headquartered, we are especially caught up in both the fight and the joy of this movement to celebrate LGBTQIA+ people everywhere. The weekslong celebration includes dance parties, street festivals, theater and musical performances, film festivals, a sports festival, drag shows and more, culminating in a rally and march toward the Capitol.
Below you will find AFT articles, resources, resolutions and more, all related to the work we and our members are doing to both protect and celebrate the rich LGBTQIA+ community that we stand in solidarity with every day.
From AFT publications
It was a jam-packed week of both celebration and serious organizing as the AFT LGBTQIA+ Task Force gathered during World Pride in Washington, D.C., June 5-8.
Pride and power: Honoring LGBTQIA+ labor leaders
Every June, Pride Month invites us to reflect on the achievements and resilience of the LGBTQIA+ community—but it’s also a powerful opportunity to recognize how queer leaders have shaped other pivotal movements in U.S. history, including the labor movement. This blog post from Share My Lesson describes seven influential leaders and shows how important it is to pass down this legacy in our classrooms.
The nation may be facing grim times with book bans and censorship against the LGBTQIA+ community, but this month AFT members are turning out in bright colors and sequins, waving miniature flags and snapping rainbow fans with thousands of others to celebrate Pride at parades and festivals across the country. The AFT brings its advocacy beyond the bounds of celebration though, diving into the serious business of fighting anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation, providing teaching resources to educators and building up support to ensure everyone is welcome and safe in our schools.
AFT member Adrienne O’Mara, a case manager at an LGBTQIA+ centered health organization, was eager to sign her first union card when her workplace began to organize. Her AFT Voices post describes how her union heritage—raised by a Granny who put great faith in both church and the picket line—and her commitment to LGBTQIA+ issues come together and exemplify how members of each community take care of one another.
Coming out for the kids
Ten years ago, high school basketball coach Anthony Nicodemo came out to his team. On this anniversary, he reflects on the reaction of his students and community of coaches who inspired him to live his truth. He shares his thoughts on the challenges of being an LGBTQIA+ person today, and describes how important it is for young people to see their teachers and coaches show that we can all be honest about who we are.
Pride and Prejudice: Teacher Autonomy and Parent Rights in the Incorporation of LGBTQ+ Studies in K–12 Education
Teachers need instructional autonomy to craft lessons around cultural competence. They also need professional development opportunities that equip them to integrate LGBTQIA+ themed content into their classes, and to constructively confront potential resistance. In this article, licensed counselor Ricardo Phipps points out why including LGBTQIA+ themed content in classrooms is critical and recommends tested models of how to do it effectively in partnership with parents.
Related to the LGBTQIA+ community
The AFT will collect and support legislation, contract language and local policies that combat violence and bullying against the LGBTQIA+ community, make them available to affiliates as models to implement in their own communities, and continue to respond with tangible and specific actions to help end the need for LGBTQIA+ people to live in a perpetual state of caution and fear.
In the face of an unprecedented number of anti-LGBTQIA+ state and national laws being introduced and passed, the AFT resolves to continue advocating for fair complaint procedures, inclusive facilities including bathrooms and locker rooms, professional development training, model resolutions, community conversations, trainings, partnerships and more.
With the crackdown on free speech on university and college campuses, the AFT condemns the hate that challenges those freedoms; recommits itself to fighting hatred, racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-LGBTQIA+ hate; and vows to vigorously defend free speech rights for higher education students, faculty and the community.