As America gears up for July 4th and the culmination of many of the America 250 celebrations across the country, one overlooked question we should ask is, “Who are we celebrating?” America 250 is an opportunity to tell the full story of America and all who are part of it, including LGBTQ Americans. As communicators, we have an obligation to ensure the stories we tell are fully inclusive.
Why is this an issue? If you look at much of the “official” government promotion of America 250, you might think we’re just celebrating a few segments of the melting pot that is America. If you read news coverage of the actions undertaken by the federal government during the 250th year of our democracy, you might think that recognizing ALL of our history is un-American. And if you examine how corporate America is choosing to participate in America 250 celebrations, you might think that America is a much happier, much less divided nation.
In this Pride Month coinciding with America 250, “pride” should not just be celebrated as an American virtue signifying love of country: it should be reflected as an acknowledgment of all of the many threads in the American quilt, including the rainbow ones.
Telling the full American story
History isn’t clean and it’s not simple. History isn’t always positive and it’s not always fair or just. History is reality, though – refusing to accept and acknowledge it isn’t just a choice; it’s a dangerous deception. When we selectively acknowledge our past, we deny our collective humanity, and we sideline or erase many of the people who helped shape and were shaped by that history.
Public relations professionals know all of this because our careers are focused not just on making history, but on highlighting it and learning from it. We value integrity, accuracy and inclusion. We understand that communications is not about whitewashing history, but about respecting it.
Respect is in short supply this Pride Month in this America 250 year: governments are co-opting the month to declare support for “nuclear families” and directly challenging the need for Pride Month celebrations; corporate support for Pride celebrations is dwindling even while some companies are coloring their logos in rainbow colors for the month; and national polling suggests that support for equal rights like marriage is falling.
Leading through authentic communication
So, what does that mean for communicators? Should we advise our clients not to participate in Pride Month celebrations? Is pinkhushing – the idea that any support for LGBTQ people should be quiet and not shared – the best advice? Is simply slapping a rainbow on a website enough this year, even if clients have done and said much more in the past? Obviously not.
For communicators, now is our time to shine. Now is the time for us to lead our clients by explaining that authentic engagement with LGBTQ people is neither political nor partisan and that expressing strong support for equality and fairness is fundamentally American. The American Way is not bigotry; it is bold-hearted. The American Way is not division; it is unification. The American Way is not silence; it is strength, even in (especially in) the face of adversity.
We can do this by helping our clients understand and reinforce their mission and values, ensuring their actions are consistent and continuous (not just in June), and insisting that their support is backed by meaningful action.
Pride is part of the American story
LGBTQ people have not had equality for most of the 250 years of our history, but we’ve always been a part of that history. We have contributed to the successes (and the failures) of America from its very inception. We fought in the American Revolution that created our nation, tended the crops that shaped our nation, built the railroads that grew our nation, served in battles that protected our nation, and served and saved our neighbors who comprise our nation. And we also suffered at the hands of political, community and business leaders who sought to deny our existence, diminish our contributions and demean our lives. It’s a complicated story.
But there should be nothing complicated about celebrating our existence and our right to Pride alongside, and as part of, the America 250 celebrations. We are as much a part of the American story as any and everyone else, and we should be part of the celebration as well.
This month, this year and in the years to come, our challenge as communicators is to continue to tell the full American story and to acknowledge, accept and learn from the lessons of the past as we help our clients shape a new future for this nation that is representative of the complete richness of the country and the people in it. The American story is the LGBTQ story, and it’s incomplete without including – and yes, celebrating – us as part of it.
Ben Finzel is president of RENEWPR in Washington, D.C., an NGLCC-certified LGBT Business Enterprise. He co-founded FH Out Front, the first global LGBTQ communications practice at an international PR firm (FleishmanHillard) in 2003. He co-founded The Change Agencies, the national network of inclusive communications agencies, in 2019. He was inducted into the PRSA National Capital Chapter Hall of Fame in 2021 and is serving as Chair-Elect of the PRSA Counselors Academy section in 2026.
Illustration credit: ink drop
