As the Central Valley LGBTQ+ community began its Pride Month celebrations this June, supporters received a stark reminder of why the annual event still matters.
The Stockton Police Department confirmed a string of anti-LGBTQ+ “hate incidents” that started the first week of Pride. The city’s two queer advocacy centers – Central Valley Gender Health & Wellness and the San Joaquin Pride Center – were both vandalized, with a brick thrown through the former’s window and a pride flag ripped down at the latter. A pride rainbow flag at a private residence nearby was also reportedly torn down.
The hate incidents come against the backdrop of a federal crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights by the Trump Administration. Upon his return to the White House, President Donald Trump has unleashed a wave of anti-transgender, anti-diversity and anti-inclusive policies. The federal government no longer recognizes transgender identities for official paperwork, has banned transgender troops from the military and says it’s even removing the name of assassinated gay rights icon Harvey Milk from a U.S. Navy ship, among a slew of other actions.
The hostile national political climate has made this year’s Pride atmosphere feel different, said area LGBTQ+ advocates.
“This is probably the first time since I’ve come out (more than two years ago) that I really feel a sense of danger for myself and for others in the community,” said MoPride Board Vice President June Sparrow, who identifies as trans and gender fluid. “Personally, I’ve been trying to keep myself visible, but also be aware of the fact that there’s a lot of hostility towards transgender people right now.”
Staying out and proud, while also staying safe, was top of mind for organizers of Pride events across the region. CalPride, which operates LGBTQ+ centers in Modesto, Merced and Sonora, is hosting more than a dozen public events across cities in Stanislaus, Merced and foothill counties. CalPride Stanislaus Executive Director Roman Scanlon said this will be the first year the events will all have a designated safety coordinator.
While in recent years, advances in LGBTQ+ rights and mainstream acceptance might have made Pride appear to be just about fun and frivolity, Scanlon said its political origins are ingrained in every celebration – this year in particular.
“There’s the old quote ‘Pride is riot,’ because of the way that it started,” Scanlon said. “So when we do Pride, we do it as a way to memorialize those who have really worked so hard to get us to where we are now. And we do it as a remembrance so that we don’t forget where we came from, to always continue to push further.”
Pride, indeed, started as a protest and marks the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City. The uprising, which is credited as the spark of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, saw patrons push back against ongoing harassment and brutality from police after a raid at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village.
In 2016, under then President Barack Obama, Stonewall became the first national monument dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights. Upon his return to the White House this year, President Trump removed all references to transgender people – despite trans activists being credited by historians as leading the protests – from the Stonewall National Monument website.
In the Valley, Pride celebrations have been annual events in the region’s largest cities, Stockton and Modesto, for close to two decades. But some smaller Valley communities, including Turlock, have only started hosting events in recent years. The start of the month was marked by Pride flag-raising ceremonies in Merced and Stockton, as well as official proclamations from city and county government leaders honoring the month.
After the recent hate incidents against Stockton LGBTQ+ centers, the city’s police department released a statement condemning the acts. It said, in part: “We strongly condemn all acts of hate, including those targeting the LGBTQ+ community. These crimes are unacceptable and will be investigated with the utmost seriousness. We are committed to protecting every member of our community, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Hate has no place in our city. We will continue to strive for a more inclusive and secure future for all.”
Uneke Chanel, a board member for Stockton Pride Inc., said while support from public leaders in the Valley remains strong for the most part, she hopes recent events encourage more members of the LGBTQ+ community to consider running for office themselves. The organization will host its 14th annual Stockton Pride June 21 at Stockton Civic Auditorium.
“I think we still have a lot of support through our local cities or our local chapters, government officials and so forth,” she said. “(But) in order for us to create change, (we) have to become those senators, those new leaders and us as individuals ourselves have to go out for those positions in order to make a difference.”
Despite the local support, LGBTQ+ centers in the region have seen a sharp rise in requests for services this year, from peer support to help with name and gender-change paperwork. At CalPride Stanislaus in Modesto, demand for peer support has increased four-fold since last year, according to Scanlon.
The uneasy national political climate has made members of the community seek secure places to be themselves, said Jessica Parman, a peer support specialist with CalPride Stanislaus.
“People are feeling more isolated than they have in a long time,” said Parman, who is also the center’s communications director. “They are having a hard time trusting as of late, and I feel like because of that they’re wanting autonomy over their choices. Their friends are trusting them and talking to them about wanting more closed spaces and more safe spaces.”
And LGBTQ+ advocates warned that the isolation and fear some feel, especially in the trans community, has led to tragedy already. Staff at both CalPride and Central Valley Gender Health & Wellness have anecdotally reported incidents of self harm, and even suicide, among local members of the trans community.
CVGHW Health Equity Director Takoda Blaze said he hopes this year’s Pride events help members of the community, especially the region’s trans community which he is a part of, realize they aren’t alone.
“You are not alone in your house when you’re crying because you know your body doesn’t match, or because you use the bathroom and someone looked at you crazy, right?” he said. “You don’t have to commit suicide to get through this. There is a community out here hoping you will reach out so we can talk to you and let you know we got your back. We’re going to get through this shit.”
He also said he hopes recent federal actions spur more straight allies to attend Pride events to show solidarity and become more outspoken with their support for their LGBTQ+ friends, family and community.
Last year’s CalPride events each drew hundreds of attendees. Upcoming free citywide CalPride events across the region include Ceres Pride at Whitmore Park June 14, Coulterville Pride at Coulterville Park June 21, Merced Pride BBQ at Applegate Park June 22 and Waterford Pride at Beard Park June 28.
James Brown, one of the center’s harm reduction and peer support specialists, said while setting up for Turlock Pride last year, he was reminded of the importance of showing up.
The event was near a skate park where some young adults were hanging out. One of them asked what Brown and the other volunteers were doing. Brown told him they were putting on Pride that day.
“The look in his eye, the twinkle, that light, that click, ‘Oh, there’s somebody else like us out here?’’ Brown said. “He goes, ’Do you mind if I volunteer and help out…because I have never been to a Pride and I am secretly still in the closet.’ And I said you can stay as long as you want.…..But the look in his eye, that he knows that there’s other people out there. So that’s why we put on pride.”
Marijke Rowland is the senior health equity reporter for The Intersection, a project of the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative.
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