The Biden administration’s Department of the Interior required every subagency to hold Pride Month events in 2023, according to internal communications obtained by the Functional Government Initiative.
DOI issued guidance explaining the mandate.
“Though there has been extraordinary progress to fully realize equity and inclusion, discrimination based solely on sexual orientation and gender identity remains persistent. Recent anti-trans violence and moves to limit human rights for transgender individuals are troubling signs that the fight for dignity and respect for the LGBTQI+ community continues.”
Secretary Deb Haaland kicked off the month with a rooftop Progress Pride Flag raising over the Stewart Lee Udall building.
Haaland explained why the flag flew for the entire month of June.
“We fly the flag over the Stewart Lee Udall building during the month of June, because we know how much visibility is part of the movement for equality,” she said.
The Bureau of Reclamation hosted an event called “Pride and Two-Spirit People” with a description invoking pre-colonial Indigenous history.
“Long before colonization deemed them an abomination, non-binary/trans people were highly respected within many Indigenous Tribes across the Americas. Collectively referred to as two spirits, they were not only celebrated for their uniqueness but considered essential to ceremonies and Tribes’ very spiritualities.”
The event featured journalist Adrian Jawort, a Northern Cheyenne Tribe member who identifies as a two-spirit person.
The Fish and Wildlife Service hosted “Pride in the Wild: The Art of Storytelling.”
The Bureaus of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and Ocean Energy Management brought in a Human Rights Campaign speaker to explain office conduct standards.
U.S. Geological Survey employees learned about “500 Queer Scientists” and field safety issues facing LGBTQI+ scientists.
The department’s social media team decorated posts with rainbow flags throughout the month.
Not everyone in the online audience celebrated. Senior officials exchanged emails and texts about monitoring replies that were “over the line.”
One sympathetic message to a staffer read: “I saw the disgusting posts on IG. I’m so sorry to see them and to know that there are some ugly people who follow our posts. Happy Pride, please don’t let this crap damper a month of celebrations. Thanks for being you!”
The records obtained by the Functional Government Initiative show the extent of Pride programming across Interior Department subagencies during Biden’s tenure.
President Trump hosted a UFC event on the White House lawn for America’s 250th anniversary celebration — critics called it a desecration of the “People’s House.”
The same critics remained silent when Biden hosted a 2023 Pride Month festival featuring pride flags and topless trans activists at the White House.
