June 3, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
June is Pride Month—an entire month dedicated to uplifting LGBTQ+ voices, celebrating their culture, and supporting LGBTQ rights. It started with the Stonewall Uprising in June 1969 when New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar located in Greenwich Village in New York City, New York. The uprising helped launch LGBT political activism and led to creation of many of today’s gay rights organizations.
LGBTQ is an acronym for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer or Questioning and is used to describe someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity. The “plus” is often seen as “+” after the Q. It’s used to signify all of the gender identities and sexual orientations, including Two-Spirit, a pan-Indigenous American identity, and Non-Binary.
To celebrate Pride Month we’re highlighting our science center’s recently created Employee Resource Group called the LGBTQ+ ERG. We interviewed the ERG’s co-chairs Paul Clark, biological sciences technician at our Milford Lab, and Patricia “Trish” Clay, anthropologist in our Social Sciences Branch, to learn more about the ERG, their goals, what kinds of topics and issues they’re addressing, and why they decided to lead the ERG.
What is the LGBTQ+ ERG, why and when did it form, and why is it important?
Paul: First and foremost, the LGBTQ+ ERG is a safe, welcoming, and affirming space for folks working at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center who identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community and their allies. In this safe space, we’re able to create a sense of community, provide support, and discuss issues and topics specific to our demographic without fear of judgement or discrimination. It was formed in December 2020 to support policies that will help make our science center a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization.
What are some of the ERG goals?
Trish: We’re looking to create a safe space for LGBTQ+ people within our science center to get to know each other and offer mutual support. We’re also bringing in speakers to talk about LGBTQ+ topics and issues. We’re holding virtual movie-watching get-togethers and other events to help our whole science center better understand and respect the LGBTQ+ community.
Paul: Yes, our goal is to create a safe and welcoming environment where we can discuss topics and issues specific to our demographic. We also want to effect change, provide educational opportunities, and promote diversity, equality, and inclusion within our science center. Our activities, events, and the issues we’re addressing are quite fluid. We want to listen to our ERG members and work toward effective solutions to problems, issues, policies, and concerns they have. We’re just 6 months into this new initiative and we’ve already started to address critical needs and create a path forward to meet them.
Trish: Exactly. We’re still new, but we are excited by where we are so far, and the support we’ve received from science center leadership and employees.