Fourth annual Beckley Pride celebration set for Saturday

Josephine E. Moore, The Register-Herald, Beckley, W.Va.
·4 min read

Jun. 1—Beckley Pride will host its annual pride month celebration from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday at the Beckley Intermodal Gateway.

Now in it's fourth year, Christina Baisden, president of Beckley Pride, said the festivities not only serve as a celebration for the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning) community and its allies but also a visible reminder to members of the LGBTQ community that they're not alone.

"A lot of people you know, over the years since 2019, are just realizing how big our community really is because we don't have to hide who we are," she said.

Baisden said this year's event with feature over 70 vendors including food, crafters and artists as well a drag shows scheduled for 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. in addition to bands and live entertainment throughout the day.

Baisden said Beckley Pride has also partnered with South Central Education Development to bring "Making Health Happen" to the festival which will provide health screenings and health information to Pride participants.

She added that giving these resources to those in the LGBTQ community is even more important as discussions regarding the reversal of Roe v. Wade become less hypothetical following a leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court.

"I think the biggest issue is going to be getting LGBTQ people connected to the necessary resources that they need," she said. "People associate uteruses with women and there are men who have uteruses that require health care and we're here to help them connect with those resources that they need."

When the Supreme Court's majority opinion was first leaked, which favored the repeal of Roe v. Wade, President Joe Biden was quoted as saying that the court's opinion was about more than abortions and could jeopardize same-sex marriage, access to contraception and LGBTQ rights.

Baisden said these Pride festivities have also helped start a conversation about LGBTQ rights and the issues they face not just on a national scale but locally, too.

"It has brought to light all the issues that the LGBTQ community face — the lack of support, the high suicide rates, the depression . . . Access to health care is also a huge issue," she said. "Because if we don't know that you're an accepting provider, we're not going to assume.

"We want treatment just like everybody else, and we want fair treatment."

Beckley is one of about a dozen municipalities in West Virginia that have LGBTQ nondiscrimination ordinances where "sexual orientation" and "gender identification" are listed as being legally protected classes under the local Human Rights ordinance.

Beckley's LGBTQ nondiscrimination ordinance was passed in January 2019 and paved the way for Beckley Pride's first Pride Month celebration.

Despite the mostly warm welcome since the celebration's inception, Baisden said they do have to make plans for how to handle any protestors that show up.

"We expect them to show up. We actually have a designated protest area for them to come and exercise their American rights," she said. "We don't want to hinder anyone with their free speech and it absolutely does not hinder our festival at all. We continue to have fun."

Baisden said they also hire private security for the event to ensure the safety of everyone.

"I must say that it is unfair that we have to deal with protesters and insecurity in that way. ... but it brings attention to the fact that we are discriminated against, and there are people out there looking to harm our community or take resources away or just discriminate against us in general," she said.

Baisden said Beckley Pride's celebration is fully funded through private donations. This year's top donors for the event are BARH, platinum sponsor; West Virginia University Institute of Technology, diamond sponsor; FMRS, gold sponsor; Anthony Williams DDS & New River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, silver sponsors."

"Without these organizations coming forward and supporting us, we would not be able to do what we do," she said. "A lot of people don't understand the costs associated with such a large event like we put on, so it's great for other organizations and businesses to recognize the importance of our presence here in southern West Virginia."