President Barack Obama on Friday
proclaimed June Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride month.
“I call upon the people of the United
States to eliminate prejudice everywhere it exists, and to celebrate
the great diversity of the American people,” Obama
said in a written proclamation.
In a two-minute video, the president
urged Americans to celebrate the everyday hero.
“As we celebrate LGBT Pride month, we
remember the activists and advocates who refused to be treated like
second-class citizens. People like Jean Manford and Harvey Milk, who
marched and protested and believed in a better future. But we also
remember the unsung heroes. The millions of LGBT Americans for whom
everyday acts required extraordinary courage. The young people who
came out as gay or transgender to their parents not knowing what to
expect. The two moms or two dads who went to an open house or PTA
meeting not knowing how they would be received. The couple that got
married even if their bosses or neighbors wouldn't approve, at least
not right away.”
“Most of these heroes didn't set out
to make history, but that's exactly what they did,” he added. “Bit
by bit, step by step they bent the arc of the moral universe toward
justice.” (The video is embedded in the right panel of this page.
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