A Diversity Message From Neil Meltzer - June

June is LGBT Pride Month, and although it's important to recognize the obstacles that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people have overcome, it is also a time to celebrate their contributions to our country. Members of the gay community have led the way in politics, medicine and science; and their artistic works, musical compositions and writings have created awareness and enriched our culture. June coincides with the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots, which brought the LGBT community's struggle for equal rights to the national consciousness and kept it there. This year, many cities will mark Pride Month with vibrant outdoor festivals and parades; members of our team will march alongside LifeBridge Health's float at Baltimore's Pride Parade on June 17. Participants, wearing custom Pride shirts, will be throwing earbuds and t-shirts into the crowd. If you'd like to join in, please contact Sterling Kelly at snkelly@lifebridgehealth.org.

The Indian Citizenship Act was signed into law in 1924 to ensure that the indigenous peoples of America received the full benefits of being U.S. citizens. Prior to this law, Native Americans were denied the rights and privileges that came with citizenship, and after they were allowed to become citizens, it was with stifling provisions and on a random basis. The Indian Citizenship Act corrected this inequity and allowed Native Americans to retain their tribal affiliations, thus enabling them to hold onto their cultural traditions, as well as become American citizens.

Flag Day is celebrated on June 14 and marks the anniversary of when the Second Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as the U.S. flag in 1777. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that officially established June 14 as Flag Day. In addition to Veterans Day, Flag Day is another opportunity for us to express gratitude to our veteran service men and women, especially our co-workers at LifeBridge Health, and it is also a time for Americans to not only reflect upon the freedoms we enjoy, but to appreciate the rich diversity that has made our nation what it is today.

Juneteenth celebrates the end of one of the most terrible times in American history by commemorating the end of slavery. Two months after the official end of the Civil War, Union Gen. Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas, to inform inhabitants that the war was over, and that Galveston's remaining 250,000 slaves were, under the Emancipation Proclamation, freed from bondage. June 19 has become the African American addendum to Independence Day, and is also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day.

At LifeBridge Health we celebrate both what makes us diverse and unique, and what makes us the same - our shared purpose of caring for communities together.

- Written by Neil Meltzer, president and CEO of LifeBridge Health