ROCKLAND, Maine — Thursday marks the final day of June and also the final day of Pride month. All month long, members of the LGBTQ+ community have come together to celebrate their freedoms, culture, achievements, and the work still to be done in the fight for equality.
Pride and support for the LGBTQ+ community are shown in different ways, from colorful parades to volunteering. Some just like to grab a pen and paper or their keyboard to let their words show their pride.
This month, the Rockland-based organization OUT Maine put together a pride anthology called “Visions on Inclusions."
Rachel Albury is the development and operations coordinator for OUT Maine. She organized the pride anthology. She told NEWS CENTER Maine she asked kids who participate in her organization's programs to submit writings and artwork that encompassed visions of inclusion.
"The kids are all very, very creative, intelligent, and talented," Albury said.
The collection of writings includes pieces detailing the experiences of LGBTQ+ with gender identity, femininity, and coming out to their families.
"I sent in three pieces, one of which was an ode to feminism and women in general," anthology contributor Jax Polevoy said. "It was meant to be something meaningful and metaphorical."
Polevoy said they've struggled with self-expression and coping mechanisms in the past around traumas and issues in their life, but writing about them has helped.
"Correlating my writing in a way I can use it to cope has been helpful for me and has been a thing where I feel proud of myself for the way that I express these things and it’s kind of a helpful process," Polevoy explained.