During a ceremony today, May 20, Long Beach City College celebrated Harvey Milk Day by raising the Pride flag for the first time in College history. The Pride flags at the Pacific Coast Campus and Liberal Arts Campus will remain until the end of June, which is the month nationally recognized as Pride Month.

“To raise the Pride flag at LBCC is an opportunity for us to highlight an extraordinary leader — Harvey Milk — and to bring to light his story and his fight for equality,” said Long Beach Community College District Board of Trustee President Uduak-Joe Ntuk. “We want to make sure that we provide a safe space for all of our students to feel welcome and succeed academically.”

Every year, California celebrates on May 22 in memory of Harvey Milk, a prominent gay activist. He worked to end discrimination against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, including his fight against the Briggs Initiative which banned gays and lesbians from working in California schools. He was the first openly gay man elected to public office in the country as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in the late 1970s. Sadly, he had been serving as a Supervisor for only 11 months when he was assassinated.

“This flag is more than just a symbol,” said Long Beach Community College District Interim Superintendent-President Dr. Mike Muñoz. “It’s a visual sign to show that the LBCC community recognizes and includes all of our LGBTQ+ students, faculty, and staff. And as an openly gay man, this is a day that I personally celebrate as I would not be here working for an educational institution without the work of Harvey Milk.”

LBCC continues to find ways to better serve LBCC’s LGBTQ+ students including:

• Implementing the Preferred Name Policy. This policy gives students, including transgender and gender non-conforming students, the option to use a preferred first name that might be different from their legal first name.
• LBCC recently launched a pronoun guide to help the College to be a more inclusive environment and to affirm students’ identity.
• The College is also hosting a variety of Pride events during the next three weeks, including the inaugural Lavender Graduation & Ball that will celebrate all of the LGBTQ+ students who are part of the Class of 2021. All of the upcoming events and panel discussions can be found at www.LBCC.edu/pride.

Photo Captions:

Group photo (left to right): Long Beach Community College District Board of Trustees Member Sunny Zia; LBCCD Board of Trustees Vice President Herlinda Chico; LBCCD Interim Superintendent-President Dr. Mike Muñoz; LBCC student Kirk Wilson; and LBCCD Board of Trustees President Uduak-Joe Ntuk.

Vice President Chico (left) and President Ntuk (right) raise the Pride flag at Long Beach City College’s Pacific Coast Campus.