06 Jun Richmond Celebrates a Decade of Pride

Photo Essay, Denis Perez-Bravo

The local LGBTQ+ community and allies celebrated the 10th annual Richmond Rainbow Pride event June 2 with the city’s first Pride Parade.

People marched from Nicholl Park to Civic Center Plaza with colorful banners, bubbles, music and bikes. Then, they congregated at the stairs of City Hall where pride flags waved in the front of the main doors.

“Even during the pandemic we did online pride because we were not going to let anything stop us,” Richmond Rainbow Pride co-founder Jamin Pursell said. He also expressed his admiration for co-founder Cesar Zepeda, a former RRP president and now the first openly gay male Richmond City Council member.

“Thank you all for being here today, 10 years later. And I hope that we get to build another 10 years and 10 years from that,” Zepeda said. “Let’s not leave anyone out. Let’s uplift each other as much as we can.”

Before a lineup of performers, the pride flag was raised as attendees cheered. Afterwards came a blessing from the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, an LGBTQI organization mirroring nun-hood practices.

Around the Civic Center Plaza an array of organizations had tables displaying their services. And taqueria Tacos El Chino served Mexican dishes like ceviche, tacos and tortas.

Richmond Rainbow Pride was formed in 2014 when community members voiced their support for Jovanka Beckles, the first openly gay person on Richmond City Council, after repeated verbal attacks targeted her for her sexual orientation.

“It was not always fun to stand up for who I am and standing up for my community,” said Beckles, now an AC transit board member.

The community support led to the first Richmond Rainbow Pride event in 2015.

“In 2014, after four years of seeing folks come up with their homophobic language and vitriolic language and hate speech, the community came out and said, OK, we’ve had enough,” Beckles said. “But in celebrating pride in Richmond, y’all, it really shows who we are as a community. And we are beautiful. We are resilient, we are brave and courageous.”

See more moments from Richmond’s Pride celebration: