Last year, cities in Northern Kentucky witnessed an incredible amount of momentum in the efforts to further the LGBTQ+ movement. When the city of Covington issued a call to action for surrounding cities to join them in passing fairness ordinances which would extend protections to LGBTQ+ citizens, Dayton, Kentucky; Bellevue; Highland Heights; Fort Thomas; and Cold Spring implemented their own ordinances. Covington was also the first city in Kentucky to pass a ban on conversion therapy for minors.
Now, on the 11th annual celebration of NKY Pride, Northern Kentuckians eagerly await the opening of the NKY Pride Center. The center planned to open Friday June 5, but that has been postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions. Bonnie Meyer, co-chair of the NKY Pride Center, says she hopes the center will be open to the public later this summer or early fall.
The NKY Pride Center has been more than 10 years in the making and will serve as a physical space for LGBTQ+ youth to receive support.
“What we hope to provide, through the NKY Pride Center, is additional efforts to promote equity and inclusion across the region, while also providing community-based services,” Meyer says. “We’re working with partners across Northern Kentucky to offer things like cultural and social opportunities.”
These opportunities include everything from open mic nights to training, workshops and discussions to networking happy hours. Until the center can officially open to the public, Meyer says a variety of virtual programs and resources, including support groups, will be hosted on the NKY Pride Center website and Facebook page.
“There are few resources that are actually located in Northern Kentucky, so we what we hope that we can do with the NKY Pride Center is pull these resources, organizations and partners together so that we’re able to serve Northern Kentuckians who don’t have access to some of these support services,” Meyer says.
In addition to postponing its grand opening, the NKY Pride Center has had to adjust to hosting a virtual NKY Pride celebration as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of the previously scheduled parade which would have taken place on June 7, a variety of virtual performances and panels will be hosted on the NKY Pride Center website, Zoom and Facebook Live.
On Saturday, June 6, Northern Kentuckians are encouraged to decorate their porches and personal spaces in celebration of Pride and share on social media with the hashtag #NKYPorchPride. Events will follow on June 7 beginning with a “Queer Yoga” flow at 10 a.m. hosted by Trisha Durham of Cincinnati Queer Yoga.
After the flow, city officials and representatives will host the NKY Fairness Panel at noon. A variety of entertainment events will take place from 3-5 p.m. and the night will end with a virtual dance party at 6 p.m.
Meyer acknowledges that this year’s Pride celebrations overlap with a Black Lives Matter rally in Cincinnati and wants the community to know that NKY Pride stands with everyone, regardless of if they are able to attend Pride events or not.
“For people who are called to direct action on Sunday, we completely support that…We remain fixed and compassionate to the black and brown LGBTQ+ community,” she says. “At the same time, we feel it’s also important to continue to uplift and celebrate progress around LGBTQ+ equity. We’re also thinking about ways that we can elevate that message and hopefully raise some funds for organizations doing the hard work of fighting for equity in our black and brown communities.”
The NKY Pride Center is located at 230 W. Pike St., Covington, nkypridecenter.org.