Emory will celebrate Pride Month with events to engage LGBTQ+ students and employees as well as allies all month long. Throughout June, the entire Emory community can explore programs that address multiple aspects of LGBTQ+ identity.
The Emory Pride Employee Network (EPEN) will host several events on and off campus to connect LGBTQ+ employees and allies across the university. EPEN is one of four employee resource groups created by Emory Human Resources to provide a sense of community for people from historically underrepresented groups.
Jennifer Brazelton, senior associate donor experience officer in the Office of Advancement and Alumni Engagement, believes that supporting and engaging the LGBTQ+ community at Emory is crucial for the future.
“It’s important we have these events where faculty and staff can come together to feel safe and be their true authentic selves,” says Brazelton, who is also an EPEN advisory board member. “There are many areas at Emory that require representation and a voice, and there’s no better organization to be part of as a staff member than EPEN to strengthen and serve the LGBTQ+ community.”
Here are a few events to look forward to during Pride Month:
1. Emory employees are invited to join the EPEN team for the Atlanta Pride Run 5K, taking place on Sunday, June 4, at 8 a.m. in Piedmont Park. Hosted by Front Runners Atlanta, the Atlanta Pride Run started in 1991 in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Since then, the race has raised more than $250,000 for Atlanta organizations that support those living with HIV and AIDS.
2. On Wednesday, June 7, at noon, EPEN will host “Our Stories: A Celebration of Pride and Living Histories” in the School of Nursing. During this hybrid event, an intergenerational group of LGBTQ+ community members will share their personal stories contextualized within American queer history. Audience members will also have an opportunity to tell their stories in an open-mic format. The panelists are Judge Michael Jacobs, who serves in the State Court of DeKalb County, Georgia; David Goetsch, associate director of recruitment and compliance at Emory; Eric Solomon 17L, visiting assistant professor of English and American studies at Oxford College; and Sarah Luce Look 92C, co-owner of Charis Books and More, the South’s oldest feminist bookstore. The participants will reflect on their diverse lived experiences, including activism at Emory during the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s, starting and raising a family as same-sex parents during the 1990s, coming out in the Deep South in the early 2000s and getting elected as the United States’ first openly bisexual judge in the 2010s. All Emory employees are invited, and a reception for in-person attendees will follow the conversation.
3. Science Gallery Atlanta’s latest exhibition, “ JUSTICE,” asks artists and researchers to collaborate and respond to the question “What is justice?”. Graduate student Eli Chlan created an immersive piece called “(H)our Glass,” which highlights the clinical and societal experiences of transmasculine individuals when starting hormone replacement therapy. With a mix of video, oral histories and a room of mirrors, Chlan, who is studying neuroscience, and his collaborator, arts educator Kenny Oaster, provide an unfiltered look into the process of transitioning.
Chlan says that through “(H)our Glass,” he wants to create dialogue around trans health care and create a space for the public to engage with transgender people on an emotional level.
“The legal landscape of trans health care is volatile in the U.S., with public dissent fueled by misinformation,” Chlan says. “While our piece focuses on inadequate care received within clinics, it is a direct means for people to hear the joy of receiving hormone replacement therapy and to understand the pain when that access is limited or taken away.”
The exhibition is on view through September 30.
4. EPEN will participate in Pride Night with the Atlanta Braves on Thursday, June 15, at 7:20 p.m. when the World Series champion Atlanta Braves play the Colorado Rockies. The Pride Night ticket package includes admission to the pregame party, a game ticket, a special Atlanta Braves Pride baseball cap and a donation to the OUT Georgia Impact Fund, powered by United Way of Greater Atlanta. The OUT Georgia Impact Fund supports nonprofit organizations and small businesses that serve the LGBTQ+ community.
5. Add some flair to your favorite jacket or bag at the free Emory Libraries Pride Month button-making On the Atlanta campus, anyone can stop by on Thursday, June 22, between noon and 1:30 p.m. in the entrance lobby of the Woodruff Library. At the Oxford College Library, button-making will take place all day. All art supplies will be provided by Emory Libraries.
In addition to the buttons, keep up with new additions to Homosaurus vocabulary in the library catalog. Historically, the classification and cataloging of LGBTQ+ materials in libraries have been less than inclusive. The Homosaurus is an internationally linked data vocabulary of LGBTQ+ terms that will make Emory’s resources relevant, representative and easier to find.
