A lively and colorful crowd gathered at the Peace and Justice Plaza on Saturday for the second annual Chapel Hill Pride Promenade. Rainbow flags waved high and vibrant outfits filled the street as members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community rallied to march down Franklin Street.
Despite the heat, attendees danced as the Triangle Pride Band filled downtown Chapel Hill with the sound of jazz music. Performers circulated as rainbow fans and stickers were handed out to the growing group.
People dancing to music on Saturday’s Pride Promenade at the Peace and Justice Plaza.
The crowd was made up of individuals of all ages and backgrounds. Elliot Peterson, a chorus teacher in Chatham County, was invited to come by his students. Peterson remarked how important gatherings like the Pride Promenade are for the queer community.
“I think events like this, looking around and seeing all the youth that are able to be here and see all of like these queer mentors that can be present to them in their lives,” said Peterson. “I think that’s a really special thing that as a community we can all come together to support each other in.”
He also spoke about what it’s like to be an educator in North Carolina.
“One of the things that’s has been happening is, like, bills for teachers to have to like out students to their parents, which breaks my heart in so many ways as a queer person and as an educator to see that happening in our public schools,” he added.
Peterson is referring to Senate Bill 49, which was passed by the NC Senate in February and requires teachers to out trans students to parents. The bill would also prohibit sexuality and gender identity from being taught in Kindergarten through fourth-grade classrooms if it makes it through all levels of the North Carolina legislature.
Caroline Center moved to the Chapel Hill area six months ago and said she came to Pride this year to celebrate her transgender kid. To her, bills like Senate Bill 49 are all about control.
“They are coming for freedom,” said Center, “and it’s everybody’s freedom, it’s not just ours. So everybody needs to join in the fight to stand up against this. So let’s vote and make sure that we can reverse these laws in the next few years.”
Ralph Martin and Hailey Williams celebrating their first time at Pride.
Ralph Martin and Hailey Williams have also recently moved to the area and this was their first pride event. Martin and Williams both are from more conservative towns in rural Alaska and they said seeing people show up on Saturday meant a lot.
“I think little things like these, events like these, really help show ourselves out and say that ‘hey, we’re here and you can’t get rid of us. We’ve been here since the beginning of time. That’s not gonna change,'” said Martin.
“This is our history and not playing down the voices that literally have made change and impact. You can’t keep us quiet. Love is love. I feel like we all deserve the right to be able to express ourselves as well. And so being able to come out and do these types of things just lets people know that you can’t keep us silent,” added Williams.
This sentiment of persistence was echoed in a speech by Chapel Hill’s openly gay Mayor Pro Tem Karen Stegman.
“Pride is both a celebration and a protest,” said Stegman. “We demand access to quality and affirming healthcare. We will not tolerate discrimination in the workplace. We will celebrate our culture, history and diversity through drag shows and story times.”
For many, the Pride Promenade was just a start to plans to celebrate their queer identities this month. Peterson said he believes, though, every day can be a celebration.
“We are going to, I think, another pride event next weekend and just I feel like living our gay authentic lives is a pride event that happens every day of the year,” said Peterson.
Participants at the Pride Promenade walking down Franklin Street.
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I’ll leave it all to Norm MacDonald on this “Gay Pride” article.:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX_gUQeZcB8