Recently, President Joe Biden issued a proclamation acknowledging the 70th anniversary of the Lavender Scare – a 1950s firing spree that took place after President Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) signed an executive order banning LGBTQ+ people from working for the U.S. government, accusing gay and lesbian employees of working with the Soviet Russian Communist Party to compromise the country’s national security. The president lamented the lives that were destroyed by the Lavender Scare, and he praised the brave activists who stood up in the face of it to fight for equality. He celebrated the great progress LGBTQ+ people have made and his administration’s dedication to the community but also acknowledged that the struggle for equal justice is not over.
