Celebrate Pride Month 2021 with Amazon

With the support of our LGBTQ+ employees and allies across the business, Pride Month in June is always a special time at Amazon as we celebrate the stories and achievements of our LGBTQ+ colleagues, customers and their communities.

Glamazon, our LGBTQ+ employee affinity group, work hard throughout the year to help foster an open and inclusive work culture. Gareth Johnson, chair of Glamazon in the UK and EU Glamazon lead, said: “Amazon sites across the world will be flying the Pride flag this month. We believe that it’s vital for LGBTQ+ communities to stand united and with pride in the face of prejudice and discrimination. By working together, we can all contribute to positive change and create greater understanding for everybody.

“Despite the restrictions in recent times, teams across Amazon have been working hard to bring our colleagues and customers alike unique opportunities to enjoy the cultural impact, history and success stories of LGBTQ+ individuals and communities. There are plenty of ways to get involved this June – we hope you’ll join us.”

This year, Amazon Music has built a Pride campaign with a mission to empower LGBTQ+ communities and their creators, and to connect LGBTQ+ communities to their history.

To soundtrack Pride celebrations around the world, Amazon Music is relaunching PROUD – the global playlist spotlighting new music from LGBTQ+ artists. The playlist is available to Prime customers, plus subscribers to Amazon Music Unlimited and Amazon Music HD.

As part of the PROUD playlist, Amazon Music will debut four brand-new Amazon Originals. Starting on June 1st, serpentwithfeet will debut a brand-new Amazon Original cover of Labi Siffre’s “Bless the Telephone.” Each week, Amazon Music will debut a new Amazon Original for Pride that will appear on Proud, including new tracks from Chloe Moriondo, Claud, and Rostam.

Amazon Music has also worked with Universal Music Group to bring the back catalog of trailblazing R&B artist Jermaine Stewart to streaming services. A groundbreaking artist taken too soon by the AIDS epidemic, Stewart paved the way for innumerable LGBTQ+ artists who followed. Starting on June 1st, customers will be able to stream Stewart’s albums Say It Again, The Word Is Out, and What Becomes a Legend Most for the first time.

Amazon Music will also launch Pride History, a collection of narrated playlists that share stories and music from the history of LGBTQ+ liberation around the world.

Narrated by artists like Kim Petras, Yungblud and more, each Pride History playlist chronicles efforts in a single country and features songs that soundtrack each moment. Comprising more than 50 important and inspirational stories, Pride History is the first audio narrative to feature both the stories and music that powered the global movement for LGBTQ+ liberation. The collection is available to Amazon Music Unlimited and Prime customers.

Audible has announced the launch of Tan France’s Queer Icons, a new eight-part Audible Original podcast hosted by Queer Eye star Tan France that highlights and celebrates LGBTQIA+ icons from across the world.

Showcasing the issues faced and victories won, the podcast is a tribute to joy, self-expression and pride, pulling on multiple themes including gender norms, black queer history, trans rights, disabled queer stories, drag, activism, masculinity and more.

Icons featured include Princess Seraphina, an eighteenth-century gentleman’s servant, whose legacy is entwined with Vauxhall’s gay culture, and Yoyo, a Kuala Lumpur-based lesbian punk rocker.

Tan France said: “Queer Icons has given me the opportunity to explore some truly inspirational individuals from all walks of life… it’s a privilege to be bringing these previously untold stories to life through this powerful new series – an ultimate celebration of queer culture worldwide.”

The Audible Original podcast is now available to download (for Audible members or free with Audible’s 30-day trial) exclusively at www.audible.co.uk/queericons.

You can now ask Alexa for facts about Pride, and the Alexa skill will give a selection of fascinating trivia – from the history of the Pride flag, the origins of the Stonewall movement and same-sex marriage laws.

Ask for a random fact, or try filtering based on a time period such as a specific year or decade.

To get started today, simply ask: “Alexa, tell me a fact about Pride.”

Alexa users can now test their knowledge on all things regarding Pride, LGBTQ+ history and much more with our new Alexa quiz.

To get started, simply ask Alexa to kick things off with an utterance such as:

• “Alexa, quiz me on Pride”
• “Alexa, launch Pride Month quiz”
• “Alexa, play the Pride Month quiz”

Amazon’s books team, with the help of our LGBTQ+ affinity group Glamazon, have put together a selection of books focused on highlighting the history and experiences of the LGBTQ+ community.

Featured books capturing the rich and often overlooked history of LGBTQ+ people right around the world include Have Pride by Stella Caldwell, which outlines the ground-breaking history of the LGBTQ+ movement, from the Stonewall riots to the HIV/AIDS crisis.

The list also includes books like Hanya Yanagihara’s million copy bestseller A Little Life, plus Queer City by Peter Ackroyd, a journey into the hidden stories of London’s LGBTQ+ history.

With incredible books available from LGBTQ+ authors covering a wealth of topics and genres, we hope you find something you enjoy – check out the specially curated Pride books list today.

Throughout Pride Month, Amazon Music will be donating to charitable causes that work hard to support LGBTQ+ communities in many different ways.

Nominated by the artists participating in Amazon Music’s Pride campaign, charities supported this month will include Rainbow Road, SAGE, Born Perfect and more.

For Amazon employees, there’s a host of virtual events, activities and workshops to get involved with throughout Pride Month.

We’ll be running mental health workshops, career coaching, mentorship sessions, coffee chats, online movie screenings and quizzes and more.

Workshops will include a series of #IAmRemarkable sessions, sessions on ‘How to be an Ally’, a panel on transgender and non-conforming inclusion, and a ‘Bring Your Authentic Self to Work’ session.

“We’re excited to celebrate Pride and look forward to the range of events and activities led by our Glamazon affinity group,” said John Boumphrey, UK Country Manager for Amazon. “We are committed to diversity, equity and inclusion and strive to create an environment where everybody feels welcome and comfortable being their authentic selves.”

Find out more about Diversity at Amazon.