Beyond the Rainbow:
Celebrating LGBTQ+ Resilience and the Fight for Equality
Instantly, as the bell tolls midnight on June 1, 2023, corporate America becomes an LGBTQ+ ally, displaying their rainbow logos and carefully worded statements of support. Meanwhile, us members of the LGBTQ+ community roll our eyes, immune to the rainbow washing, while we gear up to celebrate just how far we have come.
At Reczek Chase Law, we can certainly be characterized as both loud and proud, but neither Ethan nor I began this way. And it certainly does not mean others can always be that way. While RCL is a safe judgement free bubble, the world, unfortunately, is not. Throughout the month you will see rainbows everywhere, pride gear on display, pride books featured at your local bookstores, and events throughout the city. All of these signs might indicate safety and acceptance, but we know this is far from true. For every queer person proudly sporting rainbow attire, there are three others suffering in silence, afraid to let their eyes linger on certain items too long for fear of being discovered.
June in Louisville is characterized by dozens of pride events. Pride walks, parades, festivals, etc. While we have certainly come a long way from an entire community living in complete darkness and fear. Often, support by our straight and cis-gendered allies can be seen (and is!) more of a marketing scheme centered around performative allyship than anything else, or just a chance to hop on Instagram and post pictures from the latest drag brunch attended.
We, admittedly, are complete suckers for our rainbow logos, parades, and bar crawls: it’s part of celebrating our struggle. But pride means infinitely more to us than our participation in these celebratory events might indicate. We commonly hear critics of Pride ask why the month exists at all when there is no equal month for those who are straight – the same individuals pose a similar question about black history month, but I digress. Even allies attend these events and think that, because of their presence, we live in a time period being part of the queer community is easy. While I certainly would not want to have been queer even fifty years ago, our struggles today are much the same.
Why is there a pride month? It’s simple really, because we are proud. We are proud that despite persecution and marginalization, our elders refused to back down. We are proud that, no matter the circumstance, we did not deny who we are or who we love. We are proud that we have the courage to work with children despite thousands claiming our community is not safe for children. We aren’t just proud to be queer – we are proud because we have looked into the face of discrimination without fear, without hesitation, and with integrity.
As with many other businesses, our logo, too, became rainbow promptly on June 1. But, we can assure you, at RCL, we live the other eleven months of the year just as loud and proud as we do in June. Don’t believe us? Come on by any time and check out our office. We hope that you will join us, too, in the ongoing fight to stand up for the rights of those marginalized by policies and attitudes that continue to harm us.