Miller Lite Is Celebrating Pride Month With A New Book
Although it can feel like brands are just now jumping on the Pride Month bandwagon, Miller Lite has actively been supporting the LGBTQ+ community since the 1970s when the brand was one of the sponsors of the Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco. Moreover, the popular beer brand was a welcome presence at Pride events in New York City during the '90s and led the charge in offering "same-sex domestic partner benefits" starting in 2000 (via PR Newswire). In 2017, Miller Lite partnered with the Equality Federation, which is an "advocacy accelerator rooted in social justice, building power in our network of state-based lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) advocacy organizations," per the Equality Federation's official website.
This partnership led to the launch of Miller Lite's Open & Proud program, which hosts "town hall events" to get feedback from the LGBTQ+ community on how bars can improve and uses that feedback to create training materials for bars to be more inclusive spaces (via PR Newswire). To kick off the launch of this program, Miller Lite donated $250,000 to the Equality Federation. This may not be any of the surprising reasons Miller Lite trends on Twitter sometimes, but it's newsworthy nonetheless.
This year, just in time for Pride Month, the brand has another exciting announcement.
'Beers & Queer History' highlights bars that have been invaluable to the LGBTQ+ community
In October 2021, during LGBTQ+ History Month, Miller Lite announced the presale of "Beers & Queer History," which was written by historian Dr. Eric Cervini and highlights bars that have played a crucial role in the LGBTQ+ community over the years. This year, just in time for Pride Month, Miller Lite announced that physical copies of the book are now available (via PR Newswire).
"Bars were our havens," Dr. Cervani said in a statement by Molson Coors. "For most of the 20th century, an era of rampant homophobia and transphobia, many LGBTQ+ folks had no choice but to live double lives. During the day, while at work or with their families, they acted straight," Cervani continued. "For their own safety, they often concealed their gender identities. But at night, they went to the bars, where––at last––they could be themselves."
Alongside the bars that created safe spaces, the book highlights queer leaders like "Marsha P. Johnson of the Stonewall Inn and Lady Chablis at Club One." If you have been patiently waiting for a copy of the book since October 2021, fret not, because you will be receiving your copy this month. If you have not ordered one yet, sign up to be notified when new copies are available on Miller Lite's website. Ultimately, there may be things wrong with Miller Lite like with all brands, but its commitment to the LGBTQ+ community should not go unnoticed.