MC Pride
Welcome to MC Pride & Allies
We are Montgomery College’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and allies faculty and staff group, a college-recognized organization within the College. Our vision and goals are to:
- Defend LGBTQ people's civil/human rights, in the DC area and beyond, in wake of recent administration attacks/tweets,
- Defend the DACA dreamers (those LGBTQ and not), defend Muslims under attack and other at-risk groups, especially transgender women of color, in the military and not, who are disproportionately at risk for hate and discrimination,
- Affirm urgent need for defending/supporting LGBTQ people in our MC community, each campus,
- Affirm continuing need for teaching Safe Zone, Bystander and Consent training -- all the awareness and communication skills that make our campuses and communities more welcoming,
- Raise dialogues about and affirm the need for domestic partner benefits for employees
and MC Pride College and Campus Coordinators.
The Office of Equity and Inclusion invites employees and students to share your thoughts about LGBTQIA+ life at Montgomery College in this anonymous survey, LGBTQIA+ Needs Assessmentnew window. The survey will remain open until Friday, October 22.
PRIDE+ Club is a Rockville LGBTQ student club! Pride + is meeting every other week from October 8th - December 17th. Students will be meeting from 12:30 - 1:30 pm on Thursdays via Zoom.
For more information, students should email or communicate with group leaders via Instagram new windowor Twitternew window. If you have questions, send an email.
Gain new understanding of gender, gender identity, gender expression and the diverse range of sexual and affectional orientations. Acquire resources and referral information and practice communication skills for classroom or office discussions or unexpected disclosure. It's your choice about how visible and active to be as an ally after class.
Foster a welcoming academic environment for students who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender--or questioning identity. LGBTQ students often feel unsafe at school, resulting in reduced attendance to avoid risk, bullying, or bias. Empower students to cope with ignorance or discrimination, build community among peers, and focus on their studies.
Upon completion of this class, you will be able to:
- Describe the foundation and goals of a Safe Zone program
- Increase your awareness, knowledge and skills in order to be an affective ally for LGBTQ students
- Identify resources and referral options at MC and in the Mid-Atlantic LGBTQ community
- Strengthen your network and community of allies across the College
REGISTER THROUGH MC LEARNS!
Additional Information
We are just some of the students, faculty and staff at Montgomery College who identify as LGBTQ or as an ally. In honor of National Coming Out day, we show our support for our fellow MC friends and colleagues who have come out, who are struggling to come out, who have family members in the community, or who have lost someone because of their identity. We stand with you, and we support you.
LGBTQ represents a diverse range of gender expressions and sexual and affectional orientations.
Traditionally, this stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning. Identify labels vary considerably, with new identities such as pansexual, asexual, and androgynous emerging, even as some people reject the limitations of any such identity label.
When we engage in LGBT advocacy, we not only speak for the civil rights of sexual minorities -- we also strike a blow for greater freedom for all people. We envision a world in which we can be as feminine and as masculine as we choose, a world in which we are free to engage in consensual, loving relationships, a world which embraces diverse family forms, and a world in which a well-informed, authentic sexuality is a basic human right.
October is nationally recognized as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History Month. During October the history of gay rights and related civil rights movements are recognized and celebrated. The Rainbow Flag is one of the most widely recognized symbols of the LGBTQ movement. The message of the rainbow is hardly new.
Since ancient times, rainbows have been symbolic in many cultures, including Greek, African, Native American, and Celtic. Even Reverend Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition has used the rainbow as a freedom symbol. The Rainbow Flag as we know it today was developed by San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker in 1978. At the time, there was a need for an LGBTQ symbol which could be used year after year for the San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade.
Baker took inspiration from many sources, from the hippie movement to the black civil rights movement, and designed the Rainbow Flag. Baker explained that his colors each stood for a different aspect of gay and lesbian life.
- Red for life
- Orange for healing
- Yellow for the sun
- Green for nature
- Blue for art
- Violet for spirit
Baker himself and thirty other volunteers hand-stitched and hand-dyed Rainbow Flags in 1978. Later that year, when San Francisco’s first openly gay supervisor, Harvey Milk, was assassinated, the 1979 Pride Parade Committee found in Baker's flag the perfect symbol for the entire gay community to unite under in protest of this tragedy. The Rainbow Flag is officially recognized by the International Congress of Flag Makers.
