PRIDE Moonth nth

June 2023

PARADE PRESENTING SPONSORS:

ORS:

Celebrating Flagstaff’s LGBTQIA+ community throughout June with a Pride festival, parade, and more!

A sea of rainbows

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In recent months, we have seen a dramatic regression of LGBTQ+ rights in state legislatures all across the country.

In Arizona alone, the right-wing majority has introduced a series of bills (SB 1001, 1005 and 1040) that threaten teachers and school administrators who provide support and affirmation to queer students with litigation. While these bills are expected to be vetoed by the governor, they signal a growing hostility towards the LGBTQ+ community and create a sense of urgency as we begin to celebrate Pride Month.

This year, Flagstaff Pride is answering this call for urgency with a Pride in the Pines festival that is bound to be bigger than ever. Staged for another year at the Thorpe Park softball fields, the festival will feature a plethora of family-friendly activities and performances followed by an after party at the Orpheum Theater, but the event that’s got everyone talking is the inaugural Pride Parade.

Led by former Flagstaff mayor Coral Evans, the parade will weave through downtown and make an unmistakable statement that the northern Arizona LGBTQ+ community is here and will not be ignored. It’s an exciting and necessary addition to the already exciting and necessary festivities of Pride in the Pines, and with this special section, the Arizona Daily Sun expresses its support as Flagstaff celebrates Pride Month and pays tribute to the ongoing struggle for equity, diversity and love.

On page four, readers will find a wonderful feature story on the Pride Parade and the message it means to send; on page six, we have compiled a helpful guide that readers can reference as they seek to improve their use of proper language; and on page seven, a list of northern Arizona resources is available to help the LGBTQ+ community find the right people to reach out to when help is needed.

With that, it is my pleasure to introduce the Arizona Daily Sun’s Pride Month special section.