Inaugural Dixon Pride Coming To Memorial Park

From Love is Love Movement and Solano Pride: On July 28 at Hall Memorial Park, the Love is Love Movement and Solano Pride will host Our Town, Our Pride: A Rally in Love from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. The first-ever Dixon Pride event is being organized to fight hate with love. This event is an opportunity for the LGBTQ+ community and allies in the city of Dixon and surrounding areas to gather together, spread love and share the message there’s no room for hatred and discrimination in this community. Attendees are invited to gather in community, laugh, celebrate and mourn the challenges faced every day.

The family-friendly event offers the opportunity to come together and offer love in the face of hatred, ignorance and bigotry. “It hurts my heart to know that residents of my hometown face public judgement and ridicule from elected officials because of their sexual orientation,” said Beverly Kearney, former Dixon resident and the founder of the Love is Love Movement. “On a daily basis, our basic and fundamental civic rights are in jeopardy and this event is chance for the LGBTQ+ community to exercise our rights to equity and equality, and the right to live authentically as our true selves.” According Growing Up LGBT in America, a groundbreaking survey of more than 10,000 LGBT-identified youth ages 13-17 conducted by the Human Rights Campaign, 68 percent of LGBT youth say they hear negative messages about being LGBT from elected leaders. Additionally, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey revealed that among LGB youth surveyed,

• 28% were bullied electronically
• 23% of those who had dated had experienced sexual dating violence in the prior year
• 18% of LGB students had experienced physical dating violence
• 18% of LGB students had been forced to have sexual intercourse at some point in their lives.

“We agree with the CDC’s conclusion that ‘For youth to thrive in schools and communities, they need to feel socially, emotionally, and physically safe and supported,” said Kearney. “Our Pride, Our Town; a Rally in Love is one way were looking to connect LGBTQ+ youth and adults with the wider population of Dixon. Please join us.” Phone and on-camera interviews available.

Image via Shuttershock