The city of Oxford will experience its first pride celebration this weekend.
The inaugural Lafayette-Oxford-University Pride Weekend will be from Thursday, May 5 to Sunday, May 8.
(Courtesy: LOU Pride Weekend Facebook)
The four-day event was established to create an inclusive and welcoming space for the LGBTQ communities of Lafayette County, Oxford and the University.
Organizers and sponsors of the pride weekend include UM Pride Network, The Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies and other student groups.
The weekend includes various activities for everyone, with the kick-off of a dance party at 9 p.m. on Thursday at Proud Larry’s and a conclusion with a film screening of “LGBTQ Shorts: Struggles and Celebrations of Being Out in the Deep South,” sponsored by the Crossroads Film Society and Oxford Film Festival at 4 p.m. Sunday at Shelter on Van Buren.
Many different organizations, such as the Oxford Film Festival, have reached out to Starkey and expressed their wholehearted support and desire to be involved.
Oxford Film Festival also plans to do a float in Saturday’s Pride Parade, which will start at 2:30 p.m. at the Ford Center parking lot and travel through Presidential Debate Way to University Avenue. The route will then go up to Lamar Boulevard, around the Courthouse Square and back to the Depot. All are welcome to march with the parade or walk alongside in support.
This weekend’s celebration is also occurring following the state legislature’s recent passage of the religious freedom House Bill 1523, which has been highly contested by the LGBTQ community.
Theresa Starkey, assistant director at the Sarah Isom Center and gender studies instructor, acknowledged the recent legislature, but said the planning for LOU Pride Weekend started several months ago, well before HB 1523 gained widespread press coverage.
Since many people leave Oxford for the summer, LOU Pride Weekend organizers decided it should be celebrated before the end of the semester.
In the past, the celebration of Pride Week coincided with LGBTQ History Month and Coming Out Day in October.
Pride parades are also traditionally held in June to commemorate the Stonewall Riots of 1969, a series of violent protests by the LGBTQ community in response to a police raid that occurred on June 28, 1969, in New York.
“It is truly amazing to be holding the first Pride Parade,” Starkey said. “Something that started out as a kernel of an idea has evolved into something truly meaningful in light of the recent legislation.”
The community has generated many positive reactions to this celebration, and organizers said they hope people come out and enjoy the events.
Jared O’Connor, graduate student in the English and Gender Studies Department and part of the UM Pride Network, said people who have been in the Deep South for a long time are apprehensive of change because of its religious implications.
“Pride Weekend is meant to show that Oxford is a progressive place both intellectually and economically,” O’Connor said.
Although the Deep South has its own set of values, O’Connor said he hopes the community will band together to fix these problems and progress along with the rest of the United States.
Starkey referenced the University Creed when looking toward LOU Pride Weekend.
“I believe in the respect for the dignity of each person, and I believe in fairness and civility,” Starkey said. “When we all strive for these things, we make our community and ourselves better.”
