Why Pride Is Still Incredibly Important

June means many things to Americans. It's Pride month. The sun is beaming, and lemonade isn't just Beyoncé's new album. However, last Sunday, the month of June changed forever when a gunmen stole the lives of 49 innocent people. 

In the days that followed the Orlando shooting, I started thinking about how important Pride is to not only the queer community but to the world. After organizing my thoughts, I composed a list of the top reasons we, human beings, still need Pride. 

Although being queer is accepted in some places, tolerance is not universal. 

In many societies, being queer is condemned. People are punished, tortured and banished from their communities because of whom they love. In the United States, we take Pride for granted. In more than 70 countries, being gay is illegal. For example, in Moscow, Pride parades are banned for the foreseeable future, and in countless countries, trans people are subjected to prejudice and violence just for being who they are. Although we won marriage equality, we have so much work to do, and Pride is an agent of change in our fight for equality.

Pride lost its roots, but there's still time to reclaim its mission. 

In recent years, many people expressed their disappointment in Pride festivals, which have evolved into spectacles resembling Coachella. Pride's foundation in activism eroded and from the ruins, super Pride grew. The modern Pride Festival is heavily commercialized, and we, the LGBT community, let it happen. The purpose of Pride is to unite queer people to fight for our rights while educating our straight and cis allies on what it means to be LGBT.  

It unites our communities, queer and straight, cis and trans. 

Whether you want to meet people or to learn how you can help your community, Pride events should serve as a hub for LGBTs. As Pride gains popularity and support in the straight, cis community, we can leverage its notoriety as a way to connect with allies and build relationships. 

The queer community could always use more allies.

Allies have always been welcome at Pride because Pride is founded in love, tolerance and acceptance. When straight, cis people attend Pride events, it's often their only exposure to queer culture. Without Pride, we have no way to show them what the queer community is about.