Pride flag raised at Fresno City Hall again. ‘You are loved,’ mayor tells LGBTQ residents
For the second year, the rainbow flag was raised at Fresno City Hall on Friday to celebrate Pride month and send a message of inclusion and hope for the LGBTQ community.
About 200 people of all ages braved 90-degree temperatures for the midday ceremony, led by Fresno City Councilmember Esmeralda Soria. Thankfully, there were shade canopies and plenty of water on hand as the balloons in a fabulous rainbow arch popped from the sun and heat.
“I want people to know that you are loved, and that people have value, that they’re important to me, that they’re important to this city. That they, and you, are part of ‘One Fresno,’” Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer told the crowd.
The tone of this year’s event was a bit calmer than in 2021. Last year, the Pride flag was raised at Fresno City Hall for the first time in history after a week-long, high-profile debate between Dyer, the city council, community leaders and residents.
A number of elected officials and dignitaries attended Friday’s event and presented awards to community members, including Fresno State professor Katherine Fobear, Trans-E-Motion, Fresno EOC’s LGBT Resource Center, Sunnyside High teacher Angela Vincent, Fresno Reel Pride, Imperial Dove Court de Fresno, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, and Kyan, an 11-year-old Fresnan whose writing was featured in the book “Dear Freedom Writer.” Kyan’s parents asked that he only be identified by his first name.
The crowd also shared a moment of silence for the late Jeffery Robinson, the former director of Fresno Rainbow Pride who died in March of a heart attack.
Kyan read an excerpt from the letter he wrote for the Freedom Writers project about what he called his “double dads.” Kyan told the crowd about the first Pride flag ceremony last year at Fresno City Hall, where he met labor rights icon Dolores Huerta.
“It was exciting to be there with other families and other kids with two moms and two dads,” Kyan said. “When it came time to raise the flag, my double dads and I were asked to stand on stage. I finally felt validated and fortunate as a family. We were included in the historical and inaugural Pride flag raising event in our own hometown, Fresno.”
Socorro Santillan of Planned Parenthood Mar Monte encouraged the crowd to make simple changes to help the LGBTQ community feel included and acknowledged.
“All of us in this space, in this city, can do something as simple as recognizing folks by their pronouns, being more inclusive, being more aware of the systems that we put in place to make sure that no one feels left out,” Santillan said.
This story was originally published June 10, 2022 at 3:06 PM.