Pride Month at the Lab: Parade, Movies, Discussions

June marks Pride Month in the United States, an observance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history, and the history of the gay rights and related civil rights movements. The Lab’s Lambda Alliance Employee Resource Group has several events planned for the month to foster discussion and to have fun.

May 31: Flag Raising – 3:00 pm – Building 65

• Hanging of the Rainbow Flag outside Building 65. All are welcome to come help and stay for a group picture.

May 31: Happy Hour/Networking –  5:00 pm – Draw Billiards, Berkeley

• Happy Hour/Networking Event in collaboration with WSEC-Networking Subcommittee. Kick off pride month with friends!  We will be hosting a happy hour after we raise the pride flag.  Join us at Draw Billiards in Berkeley.  Wheelchair accessible (see bartender for elevator access).

June 5:  Crafternoon – 3:00 pm – Building 2, Room 100B

• Come and spend quality time with coworkers working on your favorite craft.  Have a standard white lab coat for the Pride Parade? Come and decorate it to your heart’s content!  If you want to decorate a pair of safety glasses for people to wear during the parade, we will have some donated glasses to bling up.  Some limited decorating supplies have been donated, so if you want to use something special, bring it along!

June 7:  Steven Universe Screening and Discussion hosted by AJ – 12 noon – Building 50 Auditorium

• Steven Universe: The series has developed a broad fan base and has been critically acclaimed for its design, music, voice acting, characterization, prominence of LGBTQ themes and science fantasy worldbuilding. The series won its first GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Kids & Family Program in 2019, becoming the first animated series to win the award. It also received its first Peabody Award for Children’s & Youth Programming in 2019. It has been nominated for four Emmy Awards and five Annie Awards.

June 10:  Coffee Hour and Ally Appreciation Event – 3:00 pm – Cafeteria

• Join the Lambda Alliance, in collaboration with the WSEC-Networking Subcommittee, for an hour of socializing as they gather to give thanks to their allies. Members of the group will be bringing treats to share.  Coffee will be available for purchase at the coffee bar.

June 14: 3 Generations movie screening – 11:30 am – Building 50 Auditorium

• 3 Generations: After Ray decides to transition from female to male, Ray’s mother, Maggie, must come to terms with the decision while tracking down Ray’s biological father to get his legal consent.

June 21: Three Ted Talks with disscussion – 12 noon – Building 50 Auditorium

• Geena Rocero – When fashion model Geena Rocero first saw a photo of herself in a bikini, “I thought … you have arrived!” As she reveals, that’s because she was born with the gender assignment “boy.” In this moving talk, Rocero tells the story of becoming who she always knew she was.
• iO Tillett Wright – iO Tillett Wright has photographed 2,000 people who consider themselves somewhere on the LGBTQ spectrum — and asked many of them: Can you assign a percentage to how gay or straight you are? Most people, it turns out, consider themselves to exist in the gray areas of sexuality, not 100% gay or straight. Which presents a real problem when it comes to discrimination: Where do you draw the line?
• Daphna Joel – Professor Daphna Joel explores the mistaken concept that brains can be either male or female, thus providing an explanation for why men and women are different. She disputes the theory, displays the neurological data and proves that our brains are really a unique mosaic of male and female characteristics, forming an ‘intersex brain.’

June 27: A Fantastic Woman movie screening – 11:30 am – Building 50A, Room 5132

• A Fantastic Woman: Marina and Orlando are in love and planning for the future.  Marina is a young waitress and aspiring singer. Orlando is 20 years older than her and owns a printing company.  After celebrating Marina’s birthday one evening, Orlando falls seriously ill. Marina rushes him to the emergency room, but he passes away just after arriving at the hospital.  Instead of being able to mourn her lover, suddenly Marina is treated with suspicion. The doctors and Orlando’s family don’t trust her. A woman detective investigates Marina to see if she was involved in his death. Orlando’s ex-wife forbids her from attending the funeral. And to make matters worse, Orlando’s son threatens to throw Marina out of the flat she shared with Orlando.  Marina is a trans woman and for most of Orlando’s family, her sexual identity is an aberration, a perversion. So Marina struggles for the right to be herself. She battles the very same forces that she has spent a lifetime fighting just to become the woman she is now – a complex, strong, forthright and fantastic woman.

June 28: ETA Seminar: In Honor of #PrideMonth – 12 noon – Building 90, Room 3122

• A celebration of LGBTQIA excellence. Join our friends in the Energy Technologies Area as they host a seminar celebrating LGBTQIA excellence.

June 30: San Francisco Pride Parade

• Registration: Are you interested in marching the San Francisco Pride Parade with the Berkeley Lab’s Lambda Alliance? There will be a van (with limited space) as part of the contingent for those with mobility concerns who want to participate.
• The San Francisco Pride Parade will be held Sunday, June 30, and once again Lab employees are invited to take part. You can borrow a special lab coat that comes in a selection of colors, grab a 🏳️‍🌈flag, slap on some sunscreen, put on comfy shoes and be prepared to spend an awesome day in the City.
• Your participation helps to bring science to the world by showing the diversity that makes up our Lab. The Lambda Alliance Employee Activity Association (EAA) and the Lambda Alliance Employee Resource Group (ERG) invites all members of the Lab community to take part in the parade. You can also bring friends and family to march, but please sign up individually so we can make sure we have enough lab coats and flags.

July 1: Flag Lowering – 3:00 pm – Building 65

• Join us as we lower the flag on another year of Pride Month activities outside Building 65. All are welcome to come help and stay for a group picture. Lab Director Mike Witherell will be present to say a few words and be recognized as a champion for our ERG/EAA.

All are welcome to join the Lambda Alliance Employee Resource Group (ERG) or Employee Activity Association (EAA).   The ERG is the policy arm enacting change at the Lab and the EAA is the social arm organizing group meetups for coffee, happy hours, or participating in other social activities.

To sign up for the Employee Resource Group please contact Kelliane Parker-Lam at KParkerLam@lbl.gov or Daniel Gens at DYGens@lbl.gov

To sign up for the Employee Activity Association, please contact Tom Gallant at TGGallant@lbl.gov