It’s June—a Month Layered with Memory, Meaning and Movement.

Writer: Colorado Health Foundation

This month holds Juneteenth. And it holds Pride. Two different histories, two different struggles—and yet, both speak to the unrelenting human pursuit of freedom.

Colorado Health Foundation

Juneteenth carries the weight of delayed liberation. It marks the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned they were free, years after the law had already changed. But the story didn’t end there. Juneteenth became a celebration, yes, but also a ritual of remembrance: a reminder that justice is not always swift and freedom is never a given. It must be named, reclaimed and passed down.

Pride holds its own lineage of resistance. Born from a rebellion against police violence at a New York City bar called the Stonewall Inn, Pride was sparked by people who were tired of hiding their true selves. It was never just about celebration—it was, and still is, a radical act of being seen. Being whole. Being unapologetic.

These observances are not interchangeable. But they do echo each other. Both arose from a refusal to be erased. A demand to be free. And a declaration that even when institutions fail us, community will rise.

This year, those echoes feel sharper.

Across the country, there are forces working to silence our histories—stripping them from school curricula, banning them from books, legislating away visibility and care. The message is clear: that our stories are dangerous. That our identities are expendable.

But we know better.

Adversaries can try to erase our histories, but it won’t happen. Because WE ARE LIVING HISTORY.

We carry it in our bloodlines and our ballads, our rituals and our resistance. We are not a sidebar to the American story—we are its authors. Our existence isn’t up for debate. It’s already woven into the fabric of this place.

And we will keep writing.

At The Colorado Health Foundation, we understand that health is not separate from freedom. Being well means being seen. Being heard. Having the space to exist without threat—to love, to age, to grow, to remember. That’s why we support organizations and movements rooted in the self-determination of Black communities and LGBTQIA+ communities. Because the people closest to the pain are also closest to the solutions.

Whether it’s reducing homophobia and transphobia in our communities, investing in places where young people of color can explore identity with care and affirmation or supporting policy work that centers equity and dignity—this work is about people, not performance. And the stories behind the statistics matter most.

This blog isn’t about the Foundation though. It’s about you.

If you’re reading this and feeling the weight of the world, the sting of being unseen or under attack, we want you to know: you are not alone. You are part of a legacy that is stronger than any law or backlash.

We see you. We stand with you. And we believe in the stories you’re still unfolding.

This month—and every month—we celebrate not because the fight is over, but because we refuse to forget who we are.

Keep telling your story.

Keep writing the truth.

Keep living your freedom.