June 28th is a time of celebration, respect, and welcome for the LGBTQIAPN+ community. But it wasn't always like that. The date, which today marks Pride Day and makes June filled with discussions about respect and rights, has already been a day of revolt.

How did Pride Day come about

In the 1960s, LGBTQIAPN+ people in New York didn't have many spaces to gather and were being persecuted for who they were — as in many places around the world. In the American city, there was a bar where the community was located, the Stonewall Inn, located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood. The place was also the scene of frequent violent police raids, which ended with several arrests.

On June 28, 1969, customers and employees turned against the police, generating an uprising that lasted a few days and brought together thousands of other demonstrators. The Stonewall Revolt, as it became known, influenced LGBTQIAPN+ movements in the United States and other countries. In 1970, an activist took advantage of the one-year anniversary of the event to mark the fight for community rights.

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Why Pride Day is important

More than 50 years have passed since the Stonewall Uprising and there are several advances on the agenda, but the struggle is still relevant. Data proves this: LGBTQIAPN+ people are five times more likely to suffer violence, according to a survey by UCLA.

Pride Day and Pride Month are good times to increase the visibility of the topic, discuss the main challenges, celebrate stories, and promote relevant advances in the theme.

Inspiration: Matéria Prima documentary

Many LGBTQIAPN+ people have their stories marked by accepting who they are and overcoming major challenges. The documentary Matéria Prima, directed by the company Ecolab and Pride+ with support from Suzano, brings to light the trajectory of Nicole Auer, maintenance planning analyst at Suzano in Aracruz (ES). In the film, she talks about her transition process and explains the importance of receiving, from the beginning, the acceptance of her leadership. “My manager had an engaged and present perception. If he had told me to 'turn away', I might not be here,” Nicole says.

For her, who began the transition process in 2022 and concluded it in 2023, after having been with the company for almost a year, the words respect and patience are striking. “I came in a way and changed. It's not overnight that people are going to call you the way you want them to. I had to be patient and talk a lot. But the summary of it all is respect. It's always about showing how important it is to respect differences,” she explains.

Do you want to know more about Nicole's story and how Suzano supported her transition process? Watch the documentary Matéria Prima on Suzano YouTube channel (access here).

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