Celebrating Pride at the Intersections: Race, Disability, and Queer Identity

Pride Month is often framed as a time of visibility, celebration, and community—and it also holds Juneteenth, a time of reflection, liberation, and continued resistance for Black communities in the U.S. For many LGBTQ+ people living at the intersections of multiple identities—Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), disabled, neurodivergent, chronically ill—Pride can feel both empowering and exhausting. At Sprout Therapy PDX, we recognize that queer liberation and Black liberation are deeply connected. The same systems that have tried to silence queer and trans folks have also long targeted Black and disabled people. Juneteenth and Pride belong together in the call for justice, care, and dignity for all. We honor the complexity of holding more than one identity, and we believe your mental health care should too.

Intersectionality Isn’t a Buzzword—It’s Real Life Coined by legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, intersectionality describes how systems of oppression overlap. In mental health, this means that queer clients of color, disabled queer folks, and others who live at multiple margins often experience unique (and compounded) barriers to safety, care, and belonging.

For example:

  • A Black trans client may face anti-Blackness and transmisogyny in therapy spaces

  • A disabled queer person might be told their experiences are "too complex" to treat

  • A Latine nonbinary client may struggle with cultural expectations and misgendering in care settings

Therapy should be a space where all of these truths are held with care.

Celebrating Pride Means Celebrating All of You Pride doesn’t have to be loud, visible, or even joyful. For some, pride is:

  • Finding language for your identity

  • Setting boundaries with family or institutions

  • Claiming space to rest, disconnect, or grieve

  • Building community with others who get it

At Sprout, we celebrate Pride by affirming the full spectrum of how it can look and feel—especially for clients whose experiences are often erased. And we honor Juneteenth by acknowledging that healing from systemic violence and intergenerational trauma is part of the mental health journey for many Black clients. Therapy can be a space to grieve, to rest, and to imagine liberation in deeply personal ways.

What Intersectional, Affirming Therapy Looks Like

  • We do not ask you to separate your race, gender, body, or ability to fit into one "treatment goal."

  • We acknowledge systemic oppression and its impact on your mental health.

  • We do our own work as therapists, so you don’t have to educate us in order to be heard.

  • We prioritize access: telehealth options, therapists with lived experience, and support for OHP clients across Oregon.

Your Story Deserves a Space That Can Hold It Too many clients have been told they are "too much," "too complicated," or "not a good fit." We reject that entirely. Your identities are not barriers to care—they are the reason care needs to be done differently.

Final Thoughts Pride isn’t one-size-fits-all. It belongs to every queer person—and that means celebrating the intersections of race, disability, class, faith, neurodivergence, and more. And during a month that includes Juneteenth, we commit to honoring the ongoing fight for Black liberation, both in and outside the therapy room. We see you, and we’re here for all of you.

Looking for mental health care that honors all of who you are? Contact Sprout Therapy PDX to get matched with an affirming therapist who will meet you at the intersections.

Emelie Douglas