Ridgefielders came out ”en masse” to attend the town's second annual Pride Progress Flag Raising event organized by Ridgefield CT Pride.
The event took place on June 1st at 10am in front of Town Hall. The flag was raised under sunny skies by 21-month-old Rose Daley, sporting an adorable rainbow t-shirt that read “Be Proud. Be Strong. Be You!,” her mom, Angela, Ridgefield’s First Selectman, Rudy Marconi and Ridgefield CT Pride Chairperson, Alisa Trachtenberg.
Trachtenberg welcomed the crowd with a message of positivity “Today, we are going to focus on the positive, and the strides we have made to increase visibility, understanding and awareness over the past year so that our Pride community members and their loved ones feel welcome and know that they truly belong here.”
She went on to talk about how we are stronger together and some of the many collaborations that Ridgefield CT Pride is engaged in, with PFLAG Waterbury, Wooster School and most recently with the Ridgefield Historical Society. She reminded people that “We know for a fact, PRIDE SAVES LIVES! Year after year, the Trevor Project’s Survey on LGBTQ+ Mental Health reaffirms that "LGBTQ youth who live in a community that is accepting of LGBTQ people reported significantly lower rates of attempting suicide than those who do not."
Next up was Barb Jennes, Ridgefield’s Poet Laureate Emerita who read a very moving original poem that she wrote especially for the occasion called “I Would Miss the Rainbows” in which she imagined a world in only black and white (please read the poem below).
Marconi followed up on the theme of the poem just before the flag was raised in front of a crowd of supporters. For some in the crowd, it was their very first time attending such an event. In fact, the Drake family had just moved here from the state of Georgia and were thrilled to participate in such an event, something which would not have been possible in GA and the reason why they moved to CT. “It was great to have the kids get out and see the pride flags in the area. They were counting on them!”commented Audra Drake.
After the flag-raising, Jeremy Stein of CT Against Gun Violence and Glori Norwitt of The Center for Empowerment and Education spoke about the importance of gun safety legislation and services offered by the Center for all, including LGBTQ+ individuals. After the event people lingered and chatted.
This Saturday, June 3, celebrate Pride in the Park from 12:00 - 3:00pm in Ballard Park. For more information about this event, and Ridgefield CT Pride including other gatherings and initiatives, or how to register to participate in the LGBTQIA+ Oral History Project go to RidgefieldCTPride.com
– by Barb Jennes
A poem to celebrate the Ridgefield Pride flag raising, June 1, 2023
“When you reduce life to black and white, you never see rainbows.”
~ Anonymous
Imagine the world in only black and white.
A world with only pandas, penguins, and zebras in the zoos,
black labs and dalmatians the only adoptable dogs,
just tic-tac-toe or dominoes to entertain young kids,
black-and-white movies the only film fare,
only the Jolly Roger flag allowed to be flown,
only Oreo cookies or black licorice for dessert,
no day allowed, only black night with white stars
(sorry blue dwarfs, it’s time for you to extinguish),
all new cars: white with black interiors,
all coffee: black,
all shoes: black; all sneakers: white,
all towels and sheets: white,
black ink only to write essay, eulogies, poems…
We weren’t born only black and white.
We were born blonde, brunette, red-haired, jet,
oval-faced, round, square and pear,
thick-thighed and thin, tall and petite,
in a rainbow of skin colors,
a hodgepodge of histories,
a symphony of sexualities,
a jumble of genders,
with loves gifted by God, not governments.
So don’t ask our town, our nation, our world
to denounce its differences and legislate love.
I would miss my bravest of friends.
I would miss the rainbows.