Newark LGBTQ Pride Week Will End With Parade, Festival

NEWARK, NJ — Newark is standing with its LGBTQ community as a city-wide Pride Week prepares to culminate with a parade and festival on Sunday, July 17.

Throughout the week, advocates have been celebrating inclusiveness and diversity with a series of events, activities and gatherings – while also acknowledging past and future struggles.

On Monday, the city’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, and Questioning (LGBTQ) Advisory and Concerns Commission gathered with Mayor Ras Baraka and other community leaders to hold a flag raising ceremony at City Hall.

The City of Newark created its first LGBTQ commission 10 years ago.

The rainbow flag, a universal symbol of LGBTQIA+ pride and inclusion, will fly outside City Hall for the duration of the week. In addition, the exterior of the building will be lit in rainbow colors as a sign of solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community amid “a renewed fight to maintain federal protections for same-sex marriage and the right to privacy,” Newark city officials said in a news release.

The call to action was shared by Newark Pride Inc., which recently released details for the 17th annual Newark LGBTQ Pride Week.

“Last month’s Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade was a devastating blow that puts millions at risk and sets a disturbing precedent that puts many other constitutional rights and freedoms in jeopardy,” the group said.

“In line with this year’s theme [Legacy of Liberation], we are calling on all residents, local businesses, nonprofits, civil and human rights activists, allies, and LGBTQ resource agencies to stand in solidarity as we head into a week full of exciting, informative and liberating programs,” Newark Pride added.

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“Newark Pride was born out of protest following the 2003 murder of Newark’s own Sakia Gunn, a 15-year-old Black lesbian,” said the group’s executive vice president, Alonzo Blalock.

“The community response from local LGBTQ agencies advocating for justice birthed an annual gathering the third week of July to commemorate her life, demonstrate our presence in solidarity, and to fellowship freely without fear,” Blalock said.

PRIDE PARADE, FESTIVAL

The week-long festivities will wrap with a Pride Parade that will kick off at noon on Sunday, July 17 at Lincoln Park. Marchers will move down Broad Street and end in Chambers Plaza at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC).

It will be the first time that celebrants have taken to the streets since 2019, organizers said. Learn more about the parade here.

Newark Interim Public Safety Director Raul Malave said Broad Street at Lincoln Park to Military Park will be closed intermittently from noon to 1 p.m. on Sunday. Drivers are advised to anticipate delays and to plan alternate routes.

After the parade, the Pride Festival will take place at Chambers Plaza from 1 to 8 p.m.

For more information about Newark Pride Week activities and events, visit http://linktr.ee/NewarkPrideFe... or email info@newarkpride.org.

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