Celebrating Pride: LGBTQ+ Open Source Projects and Programs We Love
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June is Pride month, a time when we celebrate and promote the dignity and equality of the LGBTQ+ community.
The first Pride celebration was held several months after the June 1969 Stonewall Riots, which were a series of demonstrations by members of the gay and trans community in response to a police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a gay and lesbian bar in Greenwich Village in New York City. Protests began after police officers roughed up patrons and arrested 13 people, including several trans women who had violated the state’s then gender-appropriate clothing statute. The riots are widely considered one of the most influential events in starting the gay rights movement in the United States.
Thirty years after the first Pride march, in June 1999, President Clinton issued an official proclamation declaring June was now Gay and Lesbian Pride Month. Fifty-two years after the original march, Pride events are now held on every continent, including Antarctica, which celebrated its first Pride month in 2018.
Despite the advances in the gay rights movement, there is still much work to be done.
At Mend, we’d like to show our own Pride and help advance the move toward equality by highlighting some of our favorite open source projects and programs that champion the LGBTQ+ community. Whether you’re a member of the community or an ally, here is a list of our favorite open source projects in honor of Pride month!
The Supernova Project
The Supernova Project is a global effort that aims to help address abuse within the LGBTQIA+ communities. The project empowers queer people around the world who are experiencing domestic abuse by providing a queer friendly platform of information and support. The Supernova Project is an offshoot of the charity Chayn, an entirely volunteer-led organization.
REFUGE Restrooms
REFUGE Restrooms provides a free resource to transgender, intersex, and gender nonconforming individuals in need of gender neutral and other safe restrooms. Just type in your address or use the site’s location services to find a safe restroom nearest you. If you know of a safe restroom you can also submit its address to help others.
The Queer Map by Qiekub
This open source project offers both a map and API that connects to community centers and other helpful information for queer people. The word Qiekub is based on a Chinese word that means “you are welcome.” The project’s goal is to design and build the future we want to live in.
Lesbians Who Tech
Lesbians Who Tech is a community of LGBTQ+ women, non-binary and trans individuals, and allies in and around the tech community. This incredible organization’s goal is to encourage more women, people of color, and queer and trans people to get into technology as well as to connect with organizations that support the LGBTQ+ community. Lesbians Who Tech is holding a virtual Pride summit from June 21-25, 2021.
Working toward equality
We continue to celebrate Pride month here at Mend by promoting a culture of inclusivity and equality. Together we can help build a world where love is love is love and everyone, regardless of gender or sexual identity, is treated with dignity and respect. Happy Pride!
