Happy PRIDE, My Friends!

In years past, this salutation has landed in a variety of ways.

I remember my first real PRIDE in 2009 in Chicago. (I was a late bloomer.) I was fresh out of the closet and so very overwhelmed. I was alone and filled with trepidation. A recovering Evangelical, I was in spiritual shock. It was like I had been invited to a party that no one expected me to show up for. And to be honest, I didn’t know what I was there for.

My second PRIDE was in 2011 in Durham. Life had relocated me South. I was actually in the parade, with my church contingent. This time, I knew why I was there. Beyond just being OUT, I was accepted. I had community. I felt like I was representing God.

Beyond the half-naked bodies and glitter and rainbows, I was PROUD to be in a better place in my life.

It’s 2026, and I’ve been to many PRIDES. Sometimes I’m just a spectator. Other times, I’m in the streets or on a float. I’ve promoted PRIDE, and I’ve protested Pride. Pride is complicated.

On the one hand, it’s appropriate to celebrate the progress that has taken place, both publicly and privately, in the ordinary lives of people moving beyond the shadows of shame and into the light of healing, authenticity, and life.

On the other hand, it’s appropriate to remember that the first PRIDE was not a party. The context was angst and trauma, and a refusal to be violated by conspiring systems of cruelty and hate.

Pride was a FIGHT. It was a RELIGIOUS FIGHT, a POLITICAL FIGHT, a FAMILY FIGHT, a PERSONAL FIGHT. It was a FIGHT for safety, a FIGHT for legitimacy, a FIGHT for marriage, a FIGHT for gender diversity, a FIGHT for sex, a FIGHT for truth.

Today, the FIGHT continues! American exceptionalism would have us believe that all our fiercest FIGHTS are behind us. American privilege would have us believe that we are beyond hate, struggle, and harm.

We must accept that as long as America is America, the FIGHT will continue. Because not only is PRIDE a FIGHT, but so is America itself….and an ongoing FIGHT for freedom, a FIGHT for dignity, a FIGHT for equity. It’s the FIGHT of our lives. So FIGHT like hell!

Happy Pride America!!!