Refugee Congress Honors and Celebrates Pride Month
For immediate release: June 24, 2021
WASHINGTON--Throughout the month of June and beyond, Refugee Congress celebrates and honors the LGBTQIA+ community across the nation and around the world.
As an organization built and led by former refugees and asylees, we have experienced injustice, discrimination, harassment, hate and violence firsthand. Throughout the month of June and beyond, we are dedicated to uplifting our LGBTQIA+ community to ensure equity, representation, freedom and justice.
“We must continue to honor and appreciate the sacrifices that so many LGBTQIA+ refugees and asylees have had to make on their journey to safety, and celebrate their contributions to our communities. We must also do everything possible to create a space of welcome,” said Nili Sarit Yossinger, Refugee Congress Executive Director.
LGBTQIA+ refugees and asylees face unique vulnerabilities, having to rely upon protection systems and services that are often themselves systemically biased and not designed to protect them. They also have fewer paths to safety.
We recognize and are deeply indebted to our LGBTQIA+ community, advocates and allies for the immense impact they have on history in always centering freedom, justice and liberation in the United States and around the globe.
Here at Refugee Congress, we are committed to ensuring our organization represents and lifts the voices of LGBTQIA+ refugees and asylees/asylum-seekers, and to educating ourselves and our community members on how to better support LGBTQIA+ people and families.
We are currently accepting nominations for Refugee Congress Delegates and are actively seeking nominations of refugees and asylees from LGBTQIA+ communities. We encourage you to nominate and share widely with networks and partners who represent and/or work with these communities.
This Pride Month, we join together with partners and other organizations to highlight and uplift the stories and voices of our LGBTQIA+ community. We encourage organizations and individuals to get involved with and uplift the RCUSA #RestoringWelcome Pride Campaign this week and use the RCUSA Pride Week Handbook to raise awareness.
###
Refugee Congress is a nonpartisan advocacy organization built and led by former refugees, asylum-seekers and other vulnerable migrants to promote the well-being, integration and dignity of all vulnerable migrants. With delegates across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, we use our voices and experiences to inform and influence decision-makers on critical domestic and international issues that affect our communities.
MEDIA CONTACT: (202) 905-6238, media@refugeecongress.org
