Ben Finzel
Ben Finzel

As a subdued Pride Month comes to a close this week, it might be tempting to conclude that Pride is passe or that the world has passed Pride by—replacing it with fear and loathing about the state of the world, the November federal election in the US, extreme heat and its link to climate change and more.

But after the rainbow-colored logos and pride flag-bedecked websites disappear with the changing of the calendar, we must remember that Pride is year-round. Now, more than ever, we need everyone to understand that this is no time to disengage. In fact, the opposite is true: 2024 should be the Year of the LGBTQ Ally.

Borne out of protest, Pride has become a celebration. But let’s remember that it’s also a necessity. Pride is more important today than ever before. LGBTQ people continue to be targeted in legislation, attacked in the streets and labeled as threats. It’s a tough time to be LGBTQ, which may seem odd given how far many people assume we have come in the past several decades. We have made progress, but the path to equality is not a straight line and progress is not always achieved at a steady pace.

In fact, a number of factors make the LGBTQ community's need of broad, vocal, engaged support more important than ever. Just to cite a few examples:

That’s quite a list. And it’s just a brief summary: the challenges can seem overwhelming.

As communicators, we have a responsibility to counsel our clients about how to engage appropriately on what’s happening in society. We’re regularly asked by clients when and how they should weigh in on “social issues” and other topics. I’ll agree with Richard Edelman here and say that the answer is now and strongly. “Social issues” are, in fact, communications issues. If we are to have a just society, it must be an equal society. We need allies to help us get there.

What you say to your clients when it comes to speaking out and speaking up as allies is important. Allies can do a lot to be helpful. Here’s a starting point for putting allyship into practice in your work and your recommendations to your clients:

  • Speak out on our behalf—advocate for equality in law and in everyday situations, celebrate the contributions of LGBTQ employees and the importance of LGBTQ customers every day, not just in June.
  • Speak up when we are attacked—talk about what’s happening every day in this country: attacks on LGBTQ people simply because of who we are. Make sure everyone knows that these attacks are not okay and are never justified
  • Vote like our lives depend on it because they do—understand that your vote can help ensure your LGBTQ friends and family have the ability to live freely in this country
  • Support those who support us—spend your money with people who are pro-LGBTQ and don’t patronize those who oppose equality for all, including LGBTQ people.

Each of these actions will help ensure that we don’t lose the equality we have gained and demonstrate that, though the loud voices opposing our existence may be vocal, they only represent a minority. Working with and supporting LGBTQ advocacy organizations (many of whom are losing funding and having to lay off staff, even in the face of increased attacks on our community) is another excellent step. The point is to truly engage and to help your clients and colleagues understand that allyship should be year-round, not just for a single month.

Our work is often focused on how our clients serve broad audiences, or bring different people together, or solve problems faced by multiple groups in society. In July and for the rest of the year, we must remember that engaging in allyship is part of all those things. To quote Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the time is always right to do what is right.

All month long, we have been urged to remember that Love is Love, but we must also realize that Hate is Hate. There are people across this country who hate LGBTQ people and are acting on it. We need our allies to speak up and speak out in support of us today and tomorrow and we need the world to know that Pride is 365 days a year, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

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Ben Finzel is president of RENEWPR in Washington, D.C., an NGLCC-certified LGBT Business Enterprise. In 2003, he co-founded FH Out Front, the first global LGBTQ communications practice at an international PR firm (FleishmanHillard). In 2019, he co-founded The Change Agencies, the national network of multicultural and LGBTQ-owned and operated PR firms. In 2020, he was a Washington Business Journal Business of Pride honoree.