Opinion: Why Pride's important in eastern NM

Eastern New Mexico Pride, hosted by Eastern New Mexico Rising, will return for its second year to Curry and Roosevelt County.

A question I am asked constantly as a gay woman is, "Why do we need Pride?"

First, to honor those who fought for our freedom to be who we are at the Stonewall Riots and the first gay pride marches.

Pride began June 28, 1969, with the Stonewall Riots, where police tried to raid a gay bar in New York City. This raid quickly got out of hand and erupted into more protests in the following days, with activists demanding the decriminalization of homosexuality.

A year after the uprising, the first gay pride marches honored the Stonewall Riots.

Pride is used as a tool to raise awareness of the issues experienced by LGBTQIA+ individuals in our communities. In a time where the lens has been turned to focus on our trans friends and family, and we are seeing a rise in bans on healthcare related to being trans, Pride is more important than ever.

Last year, more than 1,000 people attended our first Pride events in eastern New Mexico, and we hope more people will attend us this year. Coming together at Pride shows our city and county officials that there is a large community of LGBTQIA+ people in Curry and Roosevelt counties that deserve to be represented and respected.

Pride can create a community in an area where many people feel excluded and alone.

Over the course of the last year and a half of being on the Pride steering committee, I have heard many people tell me they thought they were alone here and they would need to move away to find "their people."

We hope that with the slate of events planned that cater to everyone of all ages and identities, participants will be able to find their community here and make a home in eastern New Mexico.

This also speaks to encouraging and supporting acceptance. Many times, I have found that people who "don't support a gay lifestyle" feel that way because they have never actually met someone who identifies as gay and had a conversation with them. The onus is not on LGBTQIA+ folks to educate everyone they meet, but having Pride events demonstrates that we are already here creating a life in this community, and we are your friends, coworkers, and neighbors.

We often see heterosexual people being proud of who they are, their relationships, and represented in the media, and despite this, we are still asked, "Why are we shoving it in their faces?" We're not. We are demanding and taking the same respect and representation given to heterosexual relationships in public and the media.

June and all Pride events are not for the uninterested few but for LGBTQIA+ folks and their allies to raise awareness and find community. Our rights here in New Mexico can never be taken for granted, and we will continue celebrating Pride.

Find the complete slate of planned Pride events at enmrising.org/Pride .

Taylor McCoy is a member of the Pride steering committee. Contact her at:

[email protected]