The following year, marches to commemorate the uprising were held in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Protests against the unwarranted arrests continued, leading to a variety of activists uniting to confront discrimination, organize gay rights demonstrations, and hold candlelight vigils. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, a watershed moment on June 28, 1969, when members of the gay community erupted against a police raid at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village. Fast-forward to today, and the group extends far beyond Seattle and has more than 3,000 employees in 60 chapters worldwide. Glam azon started small, with about 30 members marching together in the Seattle Pride Parade for the first time in 2007.
The volunteer-based board Shams heads is currently in the midst of preparing for Pride 2019.
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Its mission evolved over time, and in 2005, glamazon became an official affinity group – one of 10 that includes Amazon Women in Engineering, the Black Employee Network, and the veteran’s group are very passionate about their affinities," said Shams, a software development manager who serves as the president of glamazon. Amazon’s LGBTQ employees and their allies initially organized through an email list in 1999 that provided notice of happy hours and discussions after work. “It became obvious quickly there was no issue about it.”ĭiscovering “ glamazon” made Shams feel even more comfortable. The openly gay Miami transplant wasn’t yet familiar with Seattle’s inclusive environment or how he would go about disclosing his sexual orientation in the workplace. “My first day as an intern I was walking down Pike Street and saw multiple LGBTQ couples holding hands and thought, ‘Okay, I like this place,’” Shams said. When Amin Shams thinks back to 2012 and the start of his career at Amazon, he can’t help but feel thankful for what he experienced during the first few days in his new city.