Bonnie Meyer was stationed at Braxton Brewing Company on Seventh Street in Covington when group after group filed down the road, holding signs and flags representing messages that included the entirety of the LGBTQ rainbow and, in turn, a spectrum of queer identities.
Co-chair of the NKY Pride organization for five years and director of LGBTQ Programs & Services at Northern Kentucky University, Meyer said this was their most successful Pride event to date. The march — with the theme “Y’all means all” — unfurled in Covington, commencing at Covington Landing before pooling together at Goebel Park, where a subsequent festival took place. Designated watch spots — including Trinity Episcopal Church, U.S. Bank, The Hannaford, Hotel Covington, Gateway Community and Technical College — and Covington businesses decorated their façades with an array of rainbows to show solidarity with the movement.
It was the first time since the event began eight years ago that Northern Kentucky Pride has included a parade, which was in part to show solidarity with the Equality March that took place on June 11 in Washington D.C. — the same day as the NKY festival — where thousands rallied for LGBTQ rights.
“We had our date and all the marches were happening nationally. People are looking for a reason to pull together right now,” Meyer says. “People want to support one another across differences, regardless of that difference. We see it in the women’s marches and the immigration marches and see it in marches for ethnicity and race and in general — equity issues right now are so at the forefront of everything, I think.”
A Covington resident for six years and co-chair for the festival for the past five, Meyer said to think about the progress in their community is emotional.
In the parade, Vice Mayor of Dayton, Ky. Ben Baker walked with Covington city commissioner Jordan Huizenga to show government support. Covington Mayor Joe Meyer issued a proclamation in support of the festival where hundreds share unabashed pride in their identities. State Representative Arnold Simpson, Reverend D’Angio of Trinity Episcopal Church, educator and activist Paula Ison and business owner Amy Mobley all participated as judges for the festival.
A group of Fort Thomas high school students who have worked to implement a gay-straight-trans alliance within their school marched alongside other groups, as well as their parents.
“As an educator and as someone who used to be in K-12, to see those kids walk in the parade with their parents — just out and open and being supportive and to just hear people cheer for them — is the kind of stuff that pulls on my heartstrings,” Meyer says. “I couldn’t be prouder of Covington today. I have a lot of high hopes in what fairness and equity looks like.”
Rachel Loftis, the coordinator for NKU’s LGBTQ Program & Services, noticed more allies and families supporting NKY’s Pride efforts. “I love to see how many adults with younger people there are, whether they’re family members or some kind of other support,” she says. “That’s been really awesome. As pride has evolved, it used to be people coming out to represent themselves. Now I’ve seen a lot more support.”
As Meyer points out, some may wonder why Northern Kentucky needs a festival of its own when a large Pride event happens across the river. In short, she said it’s because they’re Kentuckians, not Ohioans.
“We have a different government, we have different elected officials and different challenges than folks that live in Ohio,” she says. “In Kentucky, we only have eight cities in our entire commonwealth that have fairness ordinances”
The Fairness Campaign is a Louisville-based lobbying and advocacy organization that focuses on preventing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity through ordinances. Cities within Kentucky aside from Covington that have implemented fairness ordinances include Louisville, Lexington, Henderson, Midway, Danville, Morehead and Vicco.
“I think it’s shameful that Covington is still the only city in Northern Kentucky with a fairness ordinance,” Meyer says. “In the fall, once we move beyond Pride season, we will definitely start with our community partners and residents and additional river cities in working toward fairness ordinances across Kentucky.”
Centered in Covington, the festival doesn’t try to be giant. Rather, it thrives on a community-based atmosphere that brings together the queer community, their families and their allies. Booths handing out resources and showing support conglomerated around Goebel Park, including GLESEN, Morehead Pride, Fairness Campaign, several local churches, Love Must Win and more. With the Washington D.C Equality March happening on the same day, the timing to implement a parade felt right.
“People are willing to stand up and practice some allyship right now,” Meyer says. “It has been by far the most successful Northern Kentucky Pride Festival we’ve seen.”
After the parade and festival, another new segment was added: an after party at Hotel Covington. In the past, the event also included a bike ride and a brunch, which were cut this year. However, Meyer says that they may look to bring those events back next year.
In the end, the importance of Meyer’s work comes down to putting a face to an issue and working toward queer visibility. Change starts locally then grows, she says. With a strong community in Northern Kentucky, she hopes that the same strength spreads all the way to Frankfort.
To learn more about NKY PRIDE, visit nkypride.org.
*A version of this story originally appeared in Northern Kentucky University’s The Northerner. Additional reporting by Jude Noel.
This article appears in Jun 7-14, 2017.
