And they sat down, and they had really great conversation. The Nazis had left, but the religious people stayed and had pizza with the kids. And by the end of the evening, the LGBTQ youth had ordered pizza.
And they were talking back and forth and back and forth. And our youth, our LGBTQ youth was across the street from them. We had some alt-right protesters and some religious protesters outside of the event.
And what was really most amazing for me in that evening was that we had some protesters. And we put our - out - our first gay pride event was at a local lesbian-owned and run bar-restaurant-bookstore. They've never had a Pride event in Blount County. Gibran, can you start with you?ĬUEVAS: Sure. MARTIN: So I just - do I have this right, that each of you represents a Pride that is fairly new? So I want to hear how you got involved in organizing Pride in your area and why. It's focused on celebrating the Navajo LGBTQ community. MARTIN: And Alray Nelson is the founder and organizer of Dine Pride, also known as Navajo Nation Pride, which is in Window Rock, Ariz. She and her wife also serve as foster parents to LGBTQ youth. MARTIN: Tonya Jones is a business person and co-organizer of Pikeville Pride in Pikeville, Ky. He runs a support group from LGBTQ youth in Appalachian Tennessee. Joining me are Gibran Cuevas, co-organizer of Blount Pride in Maryville, Tenn., which is in Blount County. There are lots of voices that represent this experience, so today we picked a few to share their stories with us. Today we wanted to hear from Pride organizers in smaller cities and rural areas, which don't always get the resources or support that organizers in other places might have. And while many big cities are celebrating the return of parades and big storefront displays and some outdoor gatherings, that's not what Pride looks like everywhere. June is Pride Month, which recognizes the contributions of LGBTQ Americans to the history and life of this country.