On behalf of the eHealth Technologies DEI Committee, we’d like to shed light on the many observances and holidays celebrated by our team members and beyond throughout the month of June.
Do you celebrate any of these observances? If so, we’d love to hear more about why they are important to you. Feel free to share your memories and photos and we may include them in the next employee newsletter – send an email to BrilliantIdeas@ehealthtechnologies.com.
JUNE 2023
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month is currently celebrated each year in the month of June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan. The Stonewall Uprising was a tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States. In the United States the last Sunday in June was initially celebrated as “Gay Pride Day,” but the actual day was flexible. In major cities across the nation the “day” soon grew to encompass a month-long series of events. Today, celebrations include pride parades, picnics, parties, workshops, symposia and concerts, and LGBTQ Pride Month events attract millions of participants around the world. Memorials are held during this month for those members of the community who have been lost to hate crimes or HIV/AIDS. The purpose of the commemorative month is to recognize the impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals have had on history locally, nationally, and internationally.
Every June, Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month is observed to spread the word about and discuss Alzheimer’s disease and other brain health diseases. Worldwide, more than 55 million people are living with Alzheimer’s or another dementia. Throughout the month, the Alzheimer’s Association encourages people to support the movement by wearing purple and training their brains to fight the disease.
Caribbean-American Heritage Month: According to the Institute of Caribbean Studies (ICS), “Caribbean immigrants have been contributing to the well-being of American society since its founding.” Alexander Hamilton, the First Secretary of the Treasury was from the Caribbean Island of Nevis. We count among our famous sons and daughters, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Cicely Tyson, W.E.B. Dubois, James Weldon Johnson, Harry Belafonte, and Sidney Poitier to name a few. ICS’ effort began in 1999 with a petition to President Bill Clinton for the recognition of a Caribbean American Heritage Month.
June is African American Music Appreciation Month. Created by President Jimmy Carter in 1979, this month celebrates the African American musical influences that comprise an essential part of our nation’s treasured cultural heritage.
Immigrant Heritage Month was first celebrated in 2014 and is meant to recognize and honor immigrants in the United States. June is a special time where we can commemorate pieces of our heritage and admire the accomplishments of simply being able to survive in an unknown place.
June 2: Native American Citizenship Day commemorates the day in 1924 when the U.S. Congress passed legislation recognizing the citizenship of Native Americans.
June 2: Telangana Formation Day – The state of Telangana was officially formed on June 2, 2014. Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao was elected as the first chief minister of Telangana, following elections in which the Telangana Rashtra Samithi party secured a majority.
June 4: Cancer Survivors Day is a secular holiday celebrated on the first Sunday in June primarily in the United States of America. The day is meant to “demonstrate that life after a cancer diagnosis can be a reality”.
June 4: Trinity Sunday is observed in the Western Christian faith as a feast in honor of the Holy Trinity.
June 14: Flag Day in the United States is observed to celebrate the history and symbolism of the U.S. flag.
June 16: The martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev is observed by members of the Sikh faith. Guru Arjan Dev was the fifth Sikh guru and the first Sikh martyr.
June 19: Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, was established as a federal holiday in 2022. This celebration honors the day in 1865 when slaves in Texas and Louisiana finally heard they were free, two months after the end of the Civil War.
June 21: National Indigenous Peoples Day, or First Nations Day, gives recognition to the indigenous populations affected by colonization in Canada.
June 24: Feast of the Most Sacred Heart is a solemnity in the liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church.
June 25: The last Sunday in June is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) Pride Day in the United States. It commemorates the Stonewall Riots that occurred on June 28, 1969.
June 27 (sundown) to June 28 (sundown): Waqf al Arafa is the second day of pilgrimage within the Islamic faith.
June 28 to June 29: Eid al-Adha honors the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ismail as an act of obedience to Allah. As with Eid al-Fitr, it is distinguished by the performance of communal prayer (or ṣalāt) at daybreak on its first day.
June 29: Feast Day of Saints Peter and Paul is a liturgical feast in honor of the martyrdom in Rome for the apostles St. Peter and St. Paul in Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
Is there an observance that did not make our list? Please share with us and we will be sure to add it to our employee website! Send us an email at DEI@eHealthTechnologies.com.
Thank you!