(NOTE: Refreshed English is used throughout this site. See Glossary for more on RE.)
OFFICIAL COMMUNIQUÉ FROM THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE
FREESTANDING EVOLUTIONIST HAVEN OF JUSTICEA
Greetings from Justicea!
June is Pride Month in FEH Justicea, as in the United States. However, you won’t often hear mention of the LGBT+ Community in our island nation—at least, not by that name.
A Little Justicean Pride History
Twenty years ago this June, delegates attending Justicea’s annual LGBT+ Convention voted by an overwhelming majority to adopt a new name for the community—or rather, the communities. Because the new moniker had overwhelming grassroots support from the islanders represented and the change had been anticipated, the Congress of Justicea wasted no time in officially recognizing the new title—the Alphabet Communities—that very month.
Therefore, this June, Justiceans will not only be commemorating the contributions made to our island and the world by these groups, but we will also be celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the “Alphabet Communities” appellation itself. By the way, the name of the historical convention that advanced this positive change is now known in our national records as “Alphabet Consortium 2001.”
Pride Month Festivities
Justicean Pride Month 2021 kicks off on Tuesday, June 1, with a customary address to the nation by Madame, the President of FEH Justicea, Justice Foral. This is followed by the annual Alphabet Pride Parades, in which participantswill walk, march, prance, and dance their way down the primary boulevards of the national and regional capitals, waving the banners and wearing the colors of their various communities as their fellow islanders cheer them on along the parade route.
Beyond June 1, fairs, art exhibitions, concerts and other performing arts festivals featuring members of the Alphabet Communities are being held throughout the month in all nine regions of the island.
As COVID-19 is still a concern in Justicea as it is around the world, we are continuing to practice mask wearing and social distancing at this time. Thus, the floats that are a usual and popular feature at Alphabet Pride will not be included in this year’s parades. However, as of this writing, 96 percent of Justicean adults aged 18 and over have been fully vaccinated, and this month we have begun vaccinating children ages 12 through 17. Infection rates are down, and we are hopeful that we will be able to resume Pride celebrations in their full glory come 2022!
The Take Away: Honor & Action for the Alphabet Communities
In the six months since the Greetings from Justicea blog site first launched in January, 2021, I have closed out each official Ministry of Cultural Affairs post with a Take Away comment relating to how our customs exhibit our values—and most prevalent among them, our twin values of Honor & Action. I have mentioned that Justiceans are swift to act in order to see that all our residents are accorded the honor they deserve as evolved humin beings and equals. The action taken by both the Justicea’s LGBT+ members in changing their collective name to the Alphabet Communities and by the Congress of Justicea in officially recognizing this name change quickly exemplifies our commitment to these values.
In 2001, our LGBT+ folk had the foresight to realize that as their population continued to grow and diversify in the 21st century, embracing those of Queer and Questioning, Agender and Asexual, Genderfluid, Two-Spirit, Intersex, and other identities, it would no longer be feasible to keep adding letters to the community’s name. Furthermore, they also acknowledged that while they came together for Pride celebrations and to forward just policies to secure equitable laws for them all, they actually represented several different communities with oftentimes unique needs. These two considerations led them to come together and forward a meaningful, innovative moniker that would be inclusive of all under its umbrella, no matter how many new communities would be added to this consortium in the future. Our Congress, realizing the benefit of this innovative and inclusive change, was quick to sanction it.
Justicea is a small island nation with a liberal-minded population, which makes it much easier for progressive ideas to turn into public policy swiftly. However, wherever you find yourself in the world this month, whether you are a member of one (or more) of the Alphabet Communities or an ardent ally, I hope that you will keep working as safely and as surely as you can in your private or public life to make progress in forwarding the cause of Equity for the Alphabet Communities.
Until next time, have a safe and happy Pride Month!
Peace & Siblinghood,
Justion Fairfield,
Minister of Cultural Affairs, FEH Justicea
Greetings from Justicea 