The Tri-Cities had their first ever gay pride rally on Sept. 15, attended by what organizers estimated to be 7,000-10,000, including several Milligan students and employees. The Stampede sat down with students and employees to talk about the event and the topic of gay rights and Christianity.
The parade and rally was put on by TriPride, a nonprofit whose mission is to “build a stronger and more inclusive community” in the area, according to their website. TriPride was formed in 2017 after a group of locals decided it was time for Northeast Tennessee to have its own Pride event to celebrate “inclusion, equality, community, and self-empowerment” and provide a place for community participation.
There were multiple reasons that Milligan students and employees decided to attend. Junior political science and humanities major Patrick Lines said, “I thought it would be a fascinating social event and I wanted to take pictures for photography. The other reason is I have a number of friends who struggle to connect their sexuality and their faith, and I think it’s important to be there for them during that.”
Technical Theatre Director Tess Evans-Shell said she went “because the LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex and asexual or allied) community have been unserved and unloved in this region, both by our city and by our churches. I went to see, learn and share the love that the church has been denying the LGBTQIA community.”
Lines said his Christian beliefs also influenced his decision to attend.
“I’d say (Christianity) informs most of my decisions, and I think as Christians we’re called to be welcoming neighbors to anybody and everybody,” he said. “I think that crosses over that to LGBTQ community as well.”
Senior business and accounting major Chris Aldmon, who chose to not attend the rally, said that in his case, his Christianity influenced his decision not to attend, though he advocated showing support towards the LGBT community.
“I think the personal support for people who are struggling with their sexuality is great, that they open their arms and accept,” he said. “I think churches should accept gay and trans people in their church. Personally, I don’t think it’s right, but I think the church needs to show support towards them.”
There were many individual organizations that showed up, including affirming Christian organizations, such as Free Mom/Dad Hugs.
“I had considered being one of the Free Mom Huggers,” Research and Instruction Librarian Mary Jackson said.
Evans-Shell said she thinks organizations like Free Mom/Dad Hugs is a “beautiful, healthy, and respectful” way to interact with the LGBTQ community in a personal and loving way. “The people in the LGBTQIA community are children of God,” she said. “I’d like to think that if Jesus attended Tri-pride, that hugs would have been his posture for the day.”
Senior social work major Jalen Glass, who attended the rally, called organizations like Free Mom/Dad Hugs “great,” saying they seemed “loving and kind” during the parade.
“I think the bigger next step would be to get churches to show love to the people,” he said. “Churches are the staple of the south, and if they show love to LGBT people, the cycle of hate would diminish further.”
Along with affirming organizations, protesters showed up to the parade as well, including members of the League of the South, a white supremacist group whose mission is to oppose “leftist agitators and foreign religions,” and more subdued groups alike.
Evans-Shell said that some of the protester groups that showed up were “very hateful, crass, and threatening,” while others were more “diplomatic,” preaching about “God’s judgement” without crude or violent gestures.
“The group that I was most impressed with were the ministers that came just to be in community,” Evans-Shell said. “These folks were harder to spot. They were sitting off to the side having calm conversations with one to three individuals at a time. They were answering questions, listening to personal experiences and praying with LGBT folks when appropriate.”
Aldmon had a similar view, saying that even Christians who believe homosexuality is a sin should recognize that no “sin outweighs another,” and “politically, (the LGBTQ community) should have the right to do as they please.”
“Any church that is not willing to embrace someone just because they’re different is not showing what is God’s love,” he said. “I think you need to embrace people and have support regardless.”
The parade gathered a significant police presence, and Glass and Jackson spoke to the security at the event.
“I thought this (the security) was interesting in light of all the police brutality that has occurred in America, and I think its a topic that should be talked about,” Glass said. “While they were keeping us safe, for queer POC and supporters, I can say it was very uncomfortable.”
Jackson also commented on the security there, saying that the police presence and security measures taken were quite significant.
“It was a little disconcerting,” she said. “I hope we can get to a place where it doesn’t have to be like that.”