RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — June 1st kicks off Pride month in Richmond and around the nation.
Virginia Pride’s ‘Endless Summer of Pride’ is a celebration for the LGBTQ+ community. This afternoon, the celebration started at Richmond City Hall as they raised the Pride Flag.
“Today, we raised a progress flag for the second time to honor national pride month. This flag includes black and brown stripes representing LGBTQ people of color and pink and blue stripes to represent members of the transgender community,” Mayor Levar Stoney said.
This month is filled with over 20 events, including happy hours, film festivals, and even the ‘Pride Run Richmond’ 5K on June 18th. Some events will also occur in July and will extend until the end of September when PrideFest comes to Richmond.
While some people celebrate, others use this month as a platform to speak about the needs of the LGBTQ community, not just this month but every day of the year.
“We are getting folks registered to vote, training folks on how to be advocates,” said Narissa Rahaman, executive director of Equality Virginia. “We’re here to have conversations with our neighbors, friends, and our families about supporting LGBTQ and just being unapologetically queer.”
Before raising the flag this afternoon, multiple members of the LGBTQ community and Mayor Levar Stoney spoke amongst supporters who attended the event a City Hall.
“No matter your race, religion, zip code, gender identity, or sexual orientation, we want you in Richmond,” Mayor Levar Stoney said
Find out what events are happening this summer and how to register here.
