We’re Queer, We’re Peers, We Literally Work Here

Pride Month is a time for us all to celebrate LGBTQ+ identity, reflect on the community’s journey, and celebrate the resilient history that brought us to this moment. You may have noticed brands and corporations giving their logos a quick rainbow paint job perhaps without understanding the history of the colors themselves. Created in 1978 by San Franciscan artist Gilbert Baker, each color represents the resiliency of the community: pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, blue for art, indigo for harmony, violet to represent the human spirit, and most recently, the addition of the brown and black stripes by the city of Philadelphia which brings the whitewashing of the community to the forefront while honoring the brown and black trans women who have always led the movement for LGBTQ+ rights, Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera to name a few (thank you).

What lies beyond the rainbow flag is a world where LGBTQ+ identifying folx are silenced, ignored, and harassed. Without real equity, legislation, and amplification of narratives at the forefront of this month-long celebration, Pride is meaningless.

We won’t be changing our logo. Instead, we will leverage the LGBTQ+ web contributors, staff members, and instructors all month (and all year) long, create scholarships for the community, and donate proceeds from book sales on Catapult.co made June 22-24th to the Ali Forney Center. First, meet the people responsible for who we are:

Hope Levy

What fictional character(s) shaped who you are today?

Oh no, there are so many. I’ll give you my top three: Cimorene from the Enchanted Forest Chronicles (she ran away from her royal family to work for a dragon so she wouldn’t have to marry a prince), Tiffany Aching from the Discworld series (she was a very sensible witch who used a cast-iron pan as her main weapon and always, always stood up for others), and Mo from Alison Bechdel’s Dykes to Watch Out For comic series (she loved her friends, and always stood up for her rights and what she believed in).

What brings you JOY?

Kindness, before anything else. That might be a strange thing to bring me joy, but seeing others participate in acts of empathy and caring gives me this indescribable happiness. We live in a world that so often falls back on cruelty and self-interest, so when I see and get to engage in acts of radical kindness I’m delighted.

If you had a time machine and you could go back 5 years, what would you tell past you?

You’re going to be okay. I promise. You’ll get through school, and you’re going to actually like yourself one day. Remember that you don’t have to be liked by everyone, and don’t forget that your presence in the world can help make it a better place. You are enough, just the way you are.

About Hope:

Hope Levy grew up in rural Oregon, reading books and telling stories to her family. Starting in July 2018, she will be the Publicity and Marketing Assistant at Catapult/Counterpoint/Soft Skull Press. She is Jewish, pansexual, and has a graduate degree in book publishing from Portland State University. You can follow her on Twitter at @hopealevy and on Instagram at @optimisticfeminist.

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Nicole Calande

What fictional character(s) shaped who you are today?

Harry Potter was one of my most formative literary experiences growing up, and I remember being blown away by how much I connected with Luna Lovegood’s character. She was strange, and she knew it, but she never let other people’s perceptions change who she was. Luna was proud of what made her unique, and she surrounded herself with people who understood and valued her. When I felt most like an outsider, I would remember Luna's self-assuredness and the community she found for herself.

What brings you JOY?

Community. A book you can’t put down. Halloween. Mint Oreos. Bike riding. Summer days. And of course…

Authentic and compelling LGBTQ+ representation gives me life! For example, The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love, and the 2014 movie, Pride, are two of my favorite films. Seriously, treat yourself and watch them.

If you had a time machine and you could go back 5 years, what would you tell past you?

Buy a lottery ticket on your birthday. The winning numbers are 3 - 5 - 28 - 33 - 51 — 16. Congratulations.

Also: Follow your joy, use your passion as your fuel, and keep searching for bigger ponds. Believe in yourself—you’re gonna do fine.

About Nicole:

Nicole Calande is from the Bay Area originally, but considers much of the West Coast to be home. She recently interned at Catapult, Counterpoint Press, and Soft Skull, and she currently works as a bookseller at Broadway Books in Portland, OR. In her free time, Nicole co-produces Monsters Out of the Closet, a LGBTQ+ horror podcast that features fiction, poetry, and music from LGBTQ+ artists. You can follow Nicole and her podcast on Twitter, and you can subscribe to Monsters Out of the Closet on iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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