Thousands of people flocked to downtown State College on a sunny Saturday afternoon to celebrate Pride and the LGBTQ community.
Presented by Centre LGBTQA Support Network, Downtown State College Improvement District and State College Borough, the third annual State College Pride included a parade of colorful floats and marchers through town and a festival in Sidney Friedman Park, among other events throughout the weekend.
State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, D-Philadelphia, served as grand marshal of the parade and festival. A frequent visitor to Centre County, Kenyatta is the first openly LGBTQ person of color elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
He called 2023 “probably the most important year for Pride in a really long time,” noting a vocal anti-LGBTQ contingent and legislation in a number of states, particularly related to transgender individuals.
“In this moment, in this Pride year, what we are doing right now, showing up with joy in our hearts, showing up for and with each other in real community, that is critical right now,” Kenyatta said. “Because this is actually what our communities look like. This is actually where most people are… Do not believe the noise and the nonsense that most people are as hateful and vitriolic as some of the politicians who unfortunately get elected…. For Pride, it’s really critical for us as a community that we recognize our joy does not exist in contrast to their hatred.”
Pennsylvania, Kenyatta said, should aspire to be the best place to live, raise a family and retire for everyone, including LGBTQ people.
“We deserve to be happy, to be joyous, to be just who you are every single day, no matter what they’re talking about, no matter what they’re doing,” he said. “You just be who the hell you are.”
State College Mayor Ezra Nanes acknowledged that some in attendance may be feeling scared, worried or uncertain because of events nationally.
“It’s OK to feel that,” Nanes said. “I want you to know that me, Ezra Nanes, my family, the Borough of State College, we are here for you. We will always be here for you. We’re going to keep building on the amazing work that you’ve already done, that we’ve already done together.”
Nanes issued a proclamation last week declaring June as Pride Month in the borough, and as the parent of an LGBTQ child, he called Pride “not just principle,” but also personal.
“One of the greatest joys in life, whether you’re a parent or a sibling or just an adult with a child in your life that matters, is supporting that child in discovering who they are,” he said. “I think that’s a really important principle of what Pride is, that we all believe in helping people discover themselves, not telling them who they should be.”
State Rep. Paul Takac, D-Lemont, said Pride is also personal for him and his family and called it a “joyful occasion.
“This represents the absolute best of what State College is and can be,” he said. “This sets the standard for what every day should be like. You are not only seen, you are not only accepted, but you should be celebrated and you should be loved. If we could bottle today and make every day like that, wouldn’t this be a better world, a better place to be?”
Timika Lane, a Philadelphia judge who is running for Pennsylvania Superior Court in November, emphasized the importance of individuals making their voices heard to ensure all are treated with dignity and respect.
“We have to decide in Pennsylvania, what is it going to be? Are we going to be a place of love or are we going to be a place of hate?… Your voice matters,” Lane said.
Kenyatta urged those in attendance to be true to themselves, knowing that it will inspire someone else to do the same.
“If we lift each other up, if we encourage each other to be brave, if we remind ourselves that we are the majority of this commonwealth, that we are the majority of this nation, when we do that then we will continue to pull this nation closer to making the ideals of freedom, justice and fairness real for everybody,” he said. “No matter who you are, no matter what you look like, no matter who you love, no matter how you worship or choose not to, here in Pennsylvania it’s about you getting a fair shot and a fair shake. We’re going to keep doing that together.”
State College Pride has grown substantially since it was first held in 2021. Last year it drew an estimated 4,000 people and organizers expected that number would increase again for the third edition.
The Centre LGBTQA Support Network (CLSN), which was founded in 2014, has been instrumental in that, as well as in providing resources year round. Sue Marshall, a founding member and current board secretary, said planning for next year’s Pride will start next week.
In the shorter term, however, CLSN will be celebrating another advancement. A long-planned LGBTQ center for downtown State College will open sometime in August at the corner of Calder Way and South Pugh Street, Marshall said.
“We can’t wait,” she said. “We will have a big opening celebration.”
