Pride Month: How museums can honor and celebrate

Two individuals in colorful costumes walking in a parade. — San Francisco Pride, a parade and festival held at the end of June each year, celebrates LGBTQ+ people and their allies. *This image from San Francisco Pride in 2012 from the Free to Use and Reuse: LGBTQ+ Collection, Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress.*

Pride Month, celebrated every June, honors the LGBTQ+ community’s history, struggles, and achievements. Originating from the 1969 Stonewall Riots, the creation of Pride Month has been crucial for raising awareness about LGBTQ+ issues, combating discrimination, promoting acceptance, and fostering more diverse and inclusive communities. Pride Month provides a platform for individuals to express their identities openly, challenging stereotypes and advocating for legal and social reforms. Celebrations like parades and workshops commemorate challenges and triumphs. Ultimately, Pride Month is a testament to the LGBTQ+ community’s resilience and a call for ongoing efforts towards a more inclusive society. Join us in celebrating this community throughout this special month and beyond.

Explore related resources from AAM:

In the AAM Resource Library, explore resources on LGBTQ+ Inclusion, including:

Welcoming Guidelines for Museums
Transgender Inclusion Guides for Trans Individuals, Institutions, and Coworkers
Interpreting Transgender Stories in Museums and Cultural Institutions

Telling Trans Stories Through Collections and Exhibitions — On-Demand Program and transcript

The Uses of Discomfort: LGBTQ Collections Their Repositories and Their Legacies — On-Demand Program recorded from a session at the 2021 AAM Virtual Annual Meeting and MuseumExpo.

The Inclusive Museum Leader, edited by Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko and Chris Taylor; AAM Press and Rowman & Littlefield (2021).

“Queer Museum Narratives and the Family Audience” by Margaret Middleton, in Storytelling in Museums, edited by Adina Langer; AAM Press and Rowman & Littlefield (2022).

“Training for the Rainbow: Preparing Educators to be LGBTQ-Inclusive” by Mac Buff in Museum Education for Today’s Audiences: Meeting Expectations with New Models, edited by Jason L. Porter and Mary Kay Cunningham; AAM Press and Rowman & Littlefield (2022).

10 Easy Ways Museums Can Be More LGBTQ-friendly by Katie Slivovsky

Emerging Issues in Legislation by Elizabeth Merritt and based on a session presented at Museums Advocacy Day 2023 with Paul Hammond, Executive Director of the Colorado Railroad Museum, and Stephanie Shapiro, Managing Director of Environment and Culture Partners.

Trans Allyship 101 — On-Demand Program in the AAM Resource Library

Join the LGBTQ+ Community on Museum Junction!

Connect, share resources and experiences, problem-solve, and collaborate. All are welcome to join, including allies!

Articles and stories from across the museum field:

“The Queer Perspective” “by Eli Burke in Museum magazine

“Abstract Art, Concrete Goals“ by Kara Fedje and Jared Ledesma in Museum magazine

“Trans Inclusion: Shedding light on gender transition and inclusion in the workplace.“ by Anna Woten and Alison Kennedy in Museum magazine

“Information PLEASE Preserving History as It Happens: Orange County Regional History Center undertook rapid-response collecting after Pulse nightclub shooting“ by Pamela Schwartz in Museum magazine

“Think of a Time When You Didn’t Feel Welcome“ by Barbara Cohen-Stratyner in Museum magazine

“Setting the Standard for LGBTQ Inclusion“ by Renae Youngs in Museum magazine

“10 LGBTQ+ historic sites to visit, beyond Stonewall“ from The Washington Post

“What Should an L.G.B.T.Q. Museum Be? Approaches Vary.“ from the New York Times

“LGBTQ Tours Offer a New Way of Looking at an Old Museum“ from Hyperallergic

“CAMPing Out: Making Museums More LGBTQ-friendly with Chicagoland Alliance of Museums with PRIDE“ by Katie Slivovsky and David Carrasquillo

“Pride Goes Virtual: #MuseumPrideParade & Your Online Community“ by Hilary-Morgan Watt and Emily Haight

“Quantifying a Commitment to Representation“ by Matthew McLendon

“How ‘Bros’ Built an LGBTQ Museum for Billy Eichner’s Gay Rom-Com“ from Variety

“I Visited the World’s First Virtual LGBTQ Museum“ from Vice

“‘Like chasing shadows’: Uncovering Colonial Williamsburg’s LGBTQ history from“ from The Washington Post

Additional resources from:

American Association for State and Local History:

LGBTQ+ Inclusive Interpretation Resource Kit

Recorded Webinar: Interpreting LGBT History at Museums and Historic Sites

Interpreting LGBT History at Museums and Historic Sites by Susan Ferentinos, published by AASLH and Rowman & Littlefield

The Trevor Project:

Resource Center

Library of Congress:

Free to Use and Reuse: LGBTQ+ Collection – Portraits of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Americans

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Pride Month resources

The Metropolitan Museum of Art:

Pride resource page has articles and videos that tell stories of art and artists from the LGBTQIA+ community.

National Archives:

LGBTQI+ Pride Month page has research resources, video discussions, magazine articles, and educational materials for students, educators, and historians.

National Endowment for the Arts:

“Celebrate PRIDE 2024!” by NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson (June, 2024)

National Endowment for the Humanities:

Virtual Bookshelf: Pride Month

National Park Service:

Pride Month – NPS Commemorations and Celebrations

Smithsonian Education:

Celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride Month page includes events, resources, podcast episodes, and Smithsonian exhibitions that tell LGBTQ+ stories.

Inspiration for how you or your museum might get involved:

Get inspiration from other museums in June or throughout the year:

The American Museum of Natural History hosts a Pride Night where visitors can explore LGBTQ+ contributions to science, culture, and the natural world through captivating performances, happy hour, and cutting-edge space visualizations.
The Field Museum offers public programming, including drag events and family story times, that highlights the LGBTQI+ community and their contributions to science and museums.
The Molly Brown House Museum hosts summer events uncovering LGBTQ+ stories, including the “Private Spaces: Queer Capitol Hill” walking tour (in partnership with The Center’s LGBTQ History Project) exploring Bachelor’s Row and its significance to a closeted community.
The Museum of Discovery and Science hosts a day-long event, featuring a rainbow science lab with crafts, a Pride KaBoom show, animal encounters, career connections showcasing LGBTQ+ community partners, and Pride-themed activities for early learners.
The Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center celebrates with a Pride-themed after-hours event at the aquarium, where visitors can build a rainbow coral reef and do other hands-on activities.
The Whitney Museum of American Art celebrates Pride with a party inspired by New York’s iconic ballroom culture, featuring inclusive activities for all ages, film screenings, creative workshops, performances, and more.

Sharing with the field

Did your museum honor or celebrate Pride in June, or any time of year? Consider pitching an idea about your museum’s work with your community, how your museum worked internally on the initiative or program, or another relevant angle for museum professionals. We are always looking for posts that empower museum professionals to do their best work; reveal new ideas and connections; and speak to a wide breadth of museum types, sizes, and disciplines.

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