In the very early hours of June 28, 1969, a police raid began at the Stonewall Inn, a gay club located on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village, NYC. The raid was by no means the first of its kind– effectively the culmination of years of discrimination, prejudice, hatred, and inequality. Stonewall is largely acknowledged as the catalyst that spurred the beginning of the gay rights movement in the US and beyond.
RESOURCES:
– 6 Ways to Learn About Stonewall Using the New York Times
– Stonewall: A Riot That Changed Millions of Lives (BBC)
Today, in honor of the brave souls who stood up and said ENOUGH… in honor of those who fought against oppression leading up to that fateful night and for those who have continued to fight every single day since… To the entire LGBTQIA+ community… We see you. We thank you. We honor you.
There are so many stories… but those stories aren’t ours to tell. Today, we dedicate this space to education and would invite you to read, to listen, to explore, and to reflect.
EDUCATE
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SUPPORT
While we acknowledge that progress has been made, there is still a tremendous amount of work to be done. There are countless amazing organizations worldwide who are doing that work and creating that needed space. As Aurifil USA is located in Chicago, IL, we’ve made a donation to the Brave Space Alliance. Their mission:
Brave Space Alliance is the first Black-led, trans-led LGBTQ+ Center located on the South Side of Chicago, dedicated to creating and providing affirming, culturally competent, for-us by-us resources, programming, and services for LGBTQ+ individuals on the South and West sides of the city. We strive to empower, embolden, and educate each other through mutual aid, knowledge-sharing, and the creation of community-sourced resources as we build toward the liberation of all oppressed peoples.
We encourage you to check out their website to learn more about the work they are doing in the Chicago area. We’re including some other amazing organizations below, but there are so many! Research those working for change in your area and see what you can do to support, volunteer, contribute.
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BE SAFE
We found the following resource to be incredibly thoughtful, sharing valuable tips for online safety and support. Click on the image below to learn more.
We have shared articles and organizations that we found helpful, but understand that we’ve only just scraped the surface. What resources do you recommend? Which articles really made an impact on your own journey? We’d invite you to share links in the comments so that we and our full range of readers might find some new avenues for continued education.
Thank you for your support in spreading the word to educate everyone on an issue that should come natural. And that’s for all to be treated like human beings.
Hi Karen, Thanks so much for following along with us!
Treated like human beings, yes. Agreeing that they are what the feel they are is rubbish. I help to make a quilt block in New Jersey.. I contributed, believed and supported the war on AIDS. I do not support Pride nor gay etc. rights that supersede someone else’s rights to have a business, use a public restroom, teach a class, play a sport or otherwise. This has gone too far. I will unsubscribe from Aurifil. There is no hate in here. let’s see if it actually gets posted!
Here’s hoping that if anyone ever challenges who you ‘feel’ you are, that you’re shown more support and kindness than this.
Speaking of rubbish…
…keep this up & feel free to remove me! i’m here to SEW only!
Please feel free to remove yourself. We are here to share our love of thread & textiles, to herald our incredible designers, artisans, and educators, AND to support our wonderfully talented and diverse community of makers.
Thanks for your response Erin and making our diverse sewing community feel safe and heard! Keep sharing this stuff!
Just stumbled across this, and it made my day. Thank you for sharing all of these great resources, and for your support of the community!