Happy Pride Month, Rotarians! Here are two photos from a recent trip to the site of the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, New York City. This is where the struggle for LGBTQ+ people in the United States to have their full humanity and civil rights recognized built momentum. Pride Month recalls that moment and celebrates the full humanity of people across the spectrum of gender and sexuality.
The plaque reads: The events that began at the Stonewall Inn in 1969 marked a monumental change for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) Americans. Stonewall, which occupied 51-53 Christopher Street, was a gay bar that was raided on June 28, 1969. Patrons and a crowd outside resisted, and confrontations continued over the next few nights in nearby Christopher Park and on adjacent streets. This uprising catalyzed the LGBTQ civil rights movement, resulting in increased visibility for the community that continues to resonate in the struggle for equality.
Christopher Park across from the Stonewall Inn
Loving Day: June 12
This Friday, June 12 is known as Loving Day. No, it's not the newest Hallmark Holiday trying to get you to buy cards for your sweetheart. It marks the day in 1967 that the U.S. Supreme Court stuck down laws against interracial marriage in the Loving v. Virginia case. Mildred and Richard Loving were arrested in 1958 for being married to each other. They filed the suit that eventually made its way to the Supreme Court and changed the law. Until that day, 16 states still outlawed marriage based on race. All but 9 states have had anti-interracial marriage laws at some point. (Michigan's was repealed in the 1883.)
The first laws on to ban interracial marriage on this continent were passed in 1691. The laws went hand-in-hand with the enslavement of Africans in a system that, for the first time, created servitude as a status that could be passed from one generation to the next. It also fed into the construction of race as a concept that had not existed before, but was used to justify the inhuman treatment of a group of people. Voluntary intimate relationships across newly created racial lines would threaten the structure being created and were therefore banned. Over time, this concept fused with notions of protecting White women's purity, while Black women's bodily integrity was routinely violated under the system of slavery.
Well after the end of slavery, these ideas persisted. Some of our nation's most heinous examples of violence-- such as the killing of Emmitt Till-- tie directly to these ideas. When the Supreme Court decided the Loving case, only 3% of US marriages were between people of different races. Slowly, this has changed to more than 11% today. Now, about a fifth of all people getting married are from different racial backgrounds (Pew Research Center).
Mildred and Richard Loving with their children
Next Up: June 12 at noon at the Food Bank. Join us for our Club Assembly and Project SEARCH!
Health and Welfare
We are sad to share the passing of Rotarian Hank Fracalossi, who passed away on June 8. Visitation will be held on June 12 from 3-7 pm at Allen Funeral Home (9136 Davison Rd.) with a funeral mass on June 13 at 1 pm at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church at 404 N. Dayton St. His obituary is available here.
Its's Time to Renew your Rotary Membership
Last week, Club Bookkeeper Amy van der Putte emailed a copy of the 2026-27 Rotary Membership Renewal form. Please fill it out and return it to her as soon as you are able-- you can either fill it out on the computer and email it to her, or complete a hard copy. If you need help, please contact Amy.
The membership form is also available to download from our Club website here:
District 7 clubs will once again be staffing the water station and intersections along our section of the Crim Festival of Races on Saturday, August 22. We are getting an early start on recruitment-- please sign up to volunteer! It starts with a fabulous breakfast at Mike Chaffee's at 6 am and you will be done before noon. It's a great way to be part of one of Flint's premiere events as you enjoy some Rotarian fellowship.
