Blog Author: Beckie Mossor, RVT
NAVTA President-Elect
Happy PRIDE month! What a beautiful month we can celebrate the diversity and inclusion of our LGBTQ+ community, remember the individuals who sacrificed to pave the way for change, and elevate the voices of those advocating and elevating diversity and sexual diversity in our world today. I can’t imagine the bravery you have had to exhibit. And I am sorry you have had to be brave; inclusion and equity should never be up for debate of who is deserving. Everyone deserves to be themselves, and I am sorry anyone has made you feel that you couldn’t be.
I am so proud of you. All of you are out there making change; everyone who has faced the struggles of our LGBTQ+ community and those who have done the work to diversify their minds, lives, communities, and practices. It takes a community. I will never personally know the struggles in the way so many of my colleagues, friends, and family have. There is no way for me to walk in their shoes. So, it is my responsibility to get educated.
For so many years, our LGBTQ+ community has patiently tried to do the educating. They have tolerated tone-deaf comments, questions, and empty acknowledgments of the commitment of allyship while sitting in the Chick-fil-a drive-thru. I have made these mistakes along my journey of learning and growth. But I know actions have, and always will, speak louder than words.
So, let’s focus on the inclusion and diversity of our underserved and underrepresented colleagues every month, every minute. Consider joining the Pride VMC or other diversity organizations in our industry. Take a course on diversity and inclusion and have tough conversations about learning and growing because bigger hearts and hands hold more people.