National Honor Our LGBTQ+ Elders Day: commemorating a lifetime of contributions made by LGBTQ+ older adults
At SAGE & Friends LA in April, social media legend and LGBTQ+ icon George Takei echoed SAGE’s sentiments toward LGBTQ+ elders when he said, “We have a great profound gratitude to you but also I feel that we have a debt… I’m grateful to all of you for what you’ve done.”
It is the fearless lives of everyday LGBTQ+ Americans that inspired The LGBTQ+ Health Resource Center of Chase Brexton Health Care to help bring this special day to life, and the extraordinary courage and everyday authenticity of LGBTQ+ people everywhere are what drive SAGE to be the strongest advocate for LGBTQ+ older adults.
Help SAGE put the “LGBTQ+” in Older Americans Month by posting a selfie on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #OAM16. Here are a few sent in by readers:
As George Takei suggested, we do indeed owe our elders a great deal, and it’s wonderful to see our government taking steps to bring more voice and visibility to America’s older generations. President Obama recently declared May as Older Americans Month, and SAGE will continue to celebrate our elders by sharing unique stories from this diverse community of LGBTQ+ trailblazers.
Today, and for the rest of May and beyond, join SAGE as we celebrate and thank the individuals, known and unknown, who shouldered enormous risk to improve the world for all of us.
Chase Brexton will host a free event on May 17 in Baltimore to mark the occasion. Connect with SAGE on social media with #OAM16 and follow the SAGE blog this and every month for inspiring stories of our LGBTQ+ elders.
