The challenges organizers of Pride are facing in 2023

The first two years organizers of Franklin, Tennessee Pride pulled together the logistics of the event were “uneventful,” according to Clayton Kutts, President of Franklin Pride TN. Franklin, a fast growing suburb outside of Nashville, approved the first and second Pride events “unanimously, without exception.”

Not so in 2023. 

Residents from the community showed up to a public hearing on the event, “actively encouraging them not to approve our application,” Kutts said. Residents made religious arguments and repeated a slew of misinformation around anti-LGBTQ+ people and Pride events, arguing baselessly that Pride events could be harmful to children.  The celebration was eventually granted approval, with the mayor of Franklin casting a tie-breaking vote. But even in his passage, Mayor Ken Moore said, “You’re underneath the microscope. I don’t know why you want to have this event.”  

READ MORE: In past Pride events, transgender people have often been sidelined. Not this year

June in the U.S. is pride month, commemorating the Stonewall Uprising in June of 1969, which sparked the gay liberation movement in America. Across big cities and small towns, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and allies alike, celebrate progress and mark the struggle for equal rights. Pride events also serve as touchpoints for LGBTQ+ members to meet others in the community and feel accepted for who they are.

In Columbia, MO, home to the University of  Missouri, Mid-Missouri Pride hosts their event in September, outside of the more typical June Pride month celebration, to meet the need of college students returning for the fall semester. “There are a lot of students that come from rural Missouri or rural Iowa, rural Idaho, and they don’t get to be their authentic selves at home,” said Janet Davis, president of Mid-Missouri Pride Fest. 

Local pride events, those not in America’s largest cities, can be a lifeline to the LGTBQ+ community.  “Visibility is like the number one thing,” said Brett D., chairman of Bastrop Pride, in Bastrop, Texas, who asked to be quoted by only his first name because of his own safety concerns. Bastrop is a town of around 11,000 people outside of Austin. 

Bastrop Pride’s first event was last year, when over 300 people showed up to what was originally a “small party in the park.” The unexpectedly large turnout  “indicated to us that Bastrop had a community and it needed that kind of support,“ Brett said. “If people don’t know we exist, they disregard us. And if they disregard that, they don’t educate themselves about us. And if they don’t educate themselves about us, they get confused, disturbed, and are provided misinformation.” 

Pride events have a real impact – according to the Trevor Project, a non-profit focused on suicide prevention among LGBTQ+ youth, young people who have “affirming homes, schools and community events” reported lower rates of attempted suicide.

According to the non-profit Human Rights Campaign, more than 500 anti-LGTBQ+ laws have been proposed in 41 states in 2023–the highest number on record. Laws banning gender affirming health care, banning transgender teens from playing sports on teams that match their gender identity, bathroom bans, ID restrictions, book bans and curriculum restrictions have also been proposed and passed across the U.S. in recent years.

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LGBTQ+ individuals aren’t just feeling pressure this year from state houses around the nation, but from major American brands too. Bud Light backed away from a collaboration with transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney after right-wing protests, and Target shelved part of their yearly Pride collection for the same reason.

That anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric has had an effect on Pride events, says Antoine Ghoston, Executive Director of Little Rock Black Pride. “We have seen a decline in sponsorships from other businesses, especially large corporations.” Those sponsorships are crucial to such events, which may need things like space rentals, security, audio and visual equipment, or a litany of other supplies. 

Finding support can be even more difficult for some groups. “Historically, Black and brown LGBTQ folks were excluded culturally from traditional pride,” Ghoston said, referencing a LGBTQ+ culture that has traditionally centered white voices. “Black and brown, trans and queer folks were the ones that really paved and led the way during the Stonewall riots,” said Ghoston, who described Little Rock Black Pride’s mission as working to amplify the voices of those communities. “It’s kind of hard to do that when we see those sponsorships decline.”

Financial security isn’t the only concern for pride events. In Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, 31 members of the white supremacist group, Patriot Front, attempted to disrupt the Northern Idaho Pride Alliance’s Pride in the Park event in 2022. Acting on a tip, law enforcement stopped the 31 members, finding them in the back of a U-Haul truck en route to the event. The members were arrested and charged with conspiracy to riot– a misdemeanor. This year, however, their Pride event went off without a hitch. They were prepared for the possibility of violence and worked with local law enforcement, and even delayed releasing the date of their event until it drew closer. 

“It’s important to show the queer community, and people who aren’t queer too,” Aizawa said, “that we are here, we are proud, we exist, and we deserve to live our life just like everyone else.”

If you or someone you know has talked about contemplating suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also find them online at https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org.