Members and Allies of the LGBTQ+ community gather for a Pride Progress Flag Raising as part of Pride Month at the Robert H. Jackson Center (June 1, 2024)
More than 50 people gathered Saturday for the raising of the Pride Progress Flag in honor of Pride Month in the city of Jamestown.
The ceremony took place at the Robert H. Jackson Center and featured a music performance and speakers.
Mental Health Association in Chautauqua County Executive Director and Pride Organizer Steven Cobb said it feels like we’re entering a time of change politically and socially.
He said he looks for comfort when things don’t feel safe, “For me, one of the places I look for comfort often is in history and what has come before me. Because, if I see evidence of what has already happened, I’m inspired by what could happen or what we can do again.”
Cobb took note of individuals in Chautauqua County who were there for the Queer community in the past, including Laurie Matson and Kim Lombard from Evergreen Health, formerly known as AIDS Community Services. He also recognized Greg Rabb as one of the first elected Gay members of a city council and Eddie Sundquist as the first Gay man elected to lead a city in New York State.
Lennox Wolters Tejera, a non-binary and trans individual from the Salamanca area, asked people to think about intersectionality and the idea that Queer liberation is for everybody, “Queerness at its heart is a political orientation of decidedly and unrelenting locking arms with those who are next to you who are marginalized and saying, ‘We’re not going anywhere and we’re staying here together.’ You might think that we look different. You might think that we look disparate, but listen.. my liberation is tied up with the liberation of the entire world.”
The ceremony also included a proclamation from Jamestown Mayor Kim Ecklund declaring June “Pride Month” in the city.
Visit jamestownpride.org or facebook.com/jamestownpride for more information about Pride events scheduled this month.
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