Bringing Together the LGBTQ Community in Rochester and Beyond is Forever Pride Continues to Grow.
( Ellen Shanna Knoppow, March 25, 2024 )
Rochester, MI – Alex Guo not set out to be instrumental in launching an LGBTQ+ Pride activity in the Rochester place. However, the 18-year-old first-year Michigan State University student has now started two nonprofits with annual summer pleasure celebrations and a Pride Prom in northern Oakland County.
Guo, who uses they/them pronouns, traces their gay engagement to the beginning of young year at Rochester Adams High School. One of the ways Guo sought to connect with other kids was by engaging in recreational pursuits, especially after just returning from a COVID-related online school year. As an LGBTQ+ girl, Guo was drawn to the university’s GSA, also known as a gay/straight empire or sex- gender empire.
” I go to the opening meeting and never a single person shows up”, Guo recalled. ” It was just me and the consultant. But after that meeting, I told the consultant,’ Well, I guess I can just be the leader and I’ll support get this team going”. And Guo did exactly that, highlighting how outrageously striking it seemed to be to take command. ” That really transformed me as a person into now where I’m just doing so much work now, in that]LGBTQ+ ] aspect”.
Two and a half years afterward, supporting the gay community has become a key part of Guo’s life. Surprisingly, that began with what they described as a modest but vocal minority in the Rochester school community who supported anti-LGBT+ language. Guo explained that Andrew Weaver, one of the school board trustees, disagreed with an in-class explanation of a teacher’s recommended pronoun usage. In contrast, the collection saw three of its publications pulled from the shelves, a victim of the pattern of banning books with LGBTQ+ information.
” With all those things happening, my faculty getting called out on Twitter for no apparent cause either, seeing how uncomfortable the group was with this, and, of course, being president of a GSA, that trickles down to the school degree in our corridors,” Guo said. So I decided I needed to speak a little bit more.
Today, all three district high schools have GSAs, something Guo worked personally to implement. In north Oakland County, especially rural areas, Guo feels that LGBTQ+ issues are n’t discussed enough.
The nonprofit Forever Pride joined forces in 2022 with Pride in the Park already in place. To broaden the scope of Forever Pride, Guo created Forever Pride Action in order to support local candidates who share their values and take positions on important LGBTQ+ issues like the death of transgender student Nex Benedict, who was the victim of a deadly school bullying incident in Oklahoma last month.
The day of this interview, Guo received confirmation from the IRS that Forever Pride Action had been granted 501c4 status. With one round of endorsements under their belt as a “test”,” We’re actually, of course, endorsing for the upcoming primary in August and the general election in November”, Guo said, in reference to the collective action of Forever Pride Action’s board of directors. ” But that is the main difference” between the groups, which are volunteer- led.
Guo was eager to share the highlights of the inaugural prom last year, which was a great time for both volunteers and teenagers.
Guo explained that the theme for it was actually an enchanted garden. ” So it was like fairy lights, and it was really pretty”. Around 70 students attended, almost exclusively from the Rochester area. Guo described it as a success despite some restrictions, given that this was the organization’s first year of operation.
The kids were really excited about having a designated event where pride flags can be displayed everywhere, which will help to make it more accessible for LGBTQ students, Guo continued.
The first Rochester Pride attracted about 100 festivalgoers in 2021, according to estimates of 500 to 600, with more charitable organizations joining the ranks each year as more organizations get involved. The Rochester Hills Public Library and the Oakland County Health Division, both of which were present to provide free vaccines, were some of the highlights of last year’s highlights.
” You could tell the vibe was so different from 2023 compared to 2022 and 2021, seeing that event grow”, Guo said. This years ‘ event, already approved by the city council, will be held June 22 from 12pm to 4: 30pm, potential sponsors and vendors should check social media for application dates.
According to Guo, the response to Forever Pride, Forever Pride Action, and their initiatives has been largely positive. They acknowledge there will always be some angry outliers in the community, but Guo does n’t see that as particular to the Rochester/Rochester Hills area.
Guo is n’t sure they started a movement. They still observe a significant difference in the level of awareness that Pride in the Park and Pride Prom have engendered.
” What I’ve noticed in my groups, as well, in all the connections I have in the city, is that we’ve seen this big shift among businesses, among the school district, among just conversations where people are becoming more and more mindful of how to be inclusive for the community”, Guo said, “becoming mindful that there are LGBTQ people in Rochester, and we have to include them and be inclusive and welcome as a city”.
True Colors Pride Prom will be held May 11 from 7 p. m. to 10 p. m. in downtown Rochester. Tickets are$ 20, scholarships are available.
