ETR and LGBTQ+ History Month

By Vignetta Charles, PhD | October 7, 2020
Chief Executive Officer, ETR

October is one of my favorite months—it brings us Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Halloween and all things spooky, my favorite season—Fall (boots weather!), and LGBTQ+ History Month! This year marks the 26th annual celebration of LGBTQ+ History Month—a time dedicated to recognizing incredible moments and amazing contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.

As a part of our mission-driven commitment to advancing health equity, building and lifting up the history of triumph and resilience of communities that experience disproportionate inequities is a critical part of our work.

At ETR, we work every day to support LGBTQ+ communities and have done so since our inception. Our earliest health promotion work in HIV made sure not to stigmatize nor shame LGBTQ+ communities that were the face of the earliest days of the epidemic. It was essential that we support and celebrate and lift up strengths from the earliest days of that work. Through the decades, we have continued to provide both LGBTQ-inclusive and LGBTQ-centered products and services. This includes curricula and health promotion materials by- and for- LGBTQ+ communities in sexual health, school health, tobacco education, providing evaluation services to LGBTQ-youth serving organizations, and professional- and workforce- development institutes with people of trans experience. These are just a few examples in our 40-year history.

For many at ETR, both being the work and doing the work, this month resonates deeply personally and professionally. We continue this work today and every day—with a spirit of celebration, triumph, and resilience for our own team and LGBTQ+ communities around the world.

In solidarity,
Vignetta