Over 50 residents gathered at Glen Cove City Hall for the seventh annual pride flag ceremony to celebrate June— which is recognized as Pride month—and acknowledge the LGBTQ+ community. The ceremony, which took place on Monday, June 2, was followed by a flag raising on Bridge Street.
“LGBTQ pride is more than a flag raising. It’s more than parades. It’s more than vibrant colors. It’s a testament to courage, resilience and love,” said Council Member Marsha Silverman, who led the event.
Silverman said the flag represents how “welcoming and accepting our city is.”
“It is a beacon of visibility for every young person here in Glen Cove who wonders if they will be accepted for who they are and when they come out,” said Aiden Jay Kaplan, assistant director of operations at PFY, an organization which advocates for the LGBTQ+ community in Queens, Nassau and Suffolk.
“It represents pride. Not just pride in ourselves, but pride in our community and who we are,” said Cass Blackburn, a representative from the Glen Cove High School Gender and Sexualities Alliance.
Blackburn, a Glen Cove native and transgender woman, said the event is important because there are many who cannot celebrate pride.
“We have to be proud for those who can’t be,” Blackburn said. “If we were in another state, we might not be able to do this event.”
Joey Ramirez, a representative from Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office, presented Blackburn with a proclamation from the state.
“We will always work for you,” Ramirez said.
Many of the speakers said the recognition of pride is especially important this year, as recent anti-LGBTQ+ legislation has been passed across the country, including book bannings and threats to healthcare. Silverman said that 27 states across the country do not have full nondiscrimination laws, meaning that employees are at risk of being fired for their sexual orientation or gender identity.
“LGBTQ people are, and always have been, part of the fabric of this country. We are not separate from America; we are America,” said Sarah Kate Ellis-Henderson, president and CEO of GLAAD, an organization which advocates for LGBTQ+ rights.
“If we were all just treated equally, we wouldn’t have to stand up here and say ‘everybody should be treated with respect,’” Silverman said.
Nassau County Minority Leader Delia DeRiggi-Whitton, Mayor Pam Panzenbeck and Deputy Mayor Donna McNaughton were in attendance, as well as council Members Grady Farnan and Michael Ktistakis. In addition, Board of Education representative Lynn James, Sea Cliff Trustee Mark Sobel and representatives from state Assembly Member Charles Lavine’s office came to support the event.
“Our resilience is our legacy, our joy is our protest and our unity is our power,” Ellis-Henderson said.
