By Dan Jones LJI
Northumberland 89.7 FM
Pride month kicked off Monday morning in Cobourg with the annual flag raising at Victoria Hall.
For pride activist Ashley Bauman, this is her 10th year hosting and organizing events in Cobourg. She was joined by Mayor Lucas Cleveland.
In 2016, the only event to recognize the LGBTQIA2S+ community was a march. Now, there are several events in Northumberland County, including a Cobourg Police BBQ today and the YMCA Northumberland Rainbow Run yesterday. Cobourg will close King Street on June 20th for further Pride festivals. Port Hope and Trent Hills also hold events this month.
“Pride events popping up throughout Northumberland County have been a great achievement, and I’m very happy to see that,” Bauman said in an interview following the flag-raising ceremony. “It means showing that queer people in Canada still exist. Unfortunately, this type of existence is highly politicized.”
In her speech, Bauman said some communities are turning off social media comments due to the amount of backlash and negative posts.
Yet, she explained, despite that atmosphere, pride events are still needed to combat such language.
Bauman suggests the queer community faces high suicide and substance abuse issues. However, celebrations during June demonstrate that her community has a safe place to express and be themselves, Bauman said.
Listen to interview:
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