June, the month of acceptance, This month is for all of us

June is both Pride Month and the month of Juneteenth. I think of it as a month of acceptance—a time to celebrate those who have been marginalized, outcast, and oppressed, yet continue to stand in their truth.

When the 2016 election results came in, many of us—including myself—were in a state of shock. We had believed America had grown beyond bigotry and hatred. We thought the Civil Rights Movement, the Women’s Rights Movement, and the ongoing LGBTQ+ movement had transformed our society for good.

But that belief was overly optimistic. It ignored the deeper truths about our country. Hate and division still run through our history and our present. Tribalism and xenophobia are deeply rooted in human nature.

Why would we think we could outrun them so easily?

In 2024, the election left me less shocked, but more deeply frustrated. We are still failing to reckon with the realities of our nation. A wound left to fester doesn’t heal—it infects. And that infection now threatens the democratic principles we claim to hold dear, and that I personally fought to protect.

When we apply a critical lens to America, people often become defensive. But that defensiveness comes from a shame-based mindset—where criticism is mistaken for condemnation. In truth, acknowledging our flaws is how we grow.

So this Pride Month, I invite us to reflect—not just on ourselves, but on the society we shape. We will see both ugliness and beauty, sickness and strength. And through that reflection, we can find genuine reasons to be proud.

Pride Month is for all of us.

Love yourself. Love your neighbors. And keep pushing toward a better version of us all.

Lacey Beaty was elected Mayor of Beaverton in 2020. Prior to serving as Mayor, she served for six years on the Beaverton City Council.