ABOVE: (L-R) Christie Hattersley, Rep. Adam Hattersley, Mayor Jane Castor, Nadine Smith and Justice Gennari at Tampa’s Old City Hall June 20. Photo courtesy City of Tampa.
TAMPA | Mayor Jane Castor partnered with Equality Florida and the Tampa Bay LGBT Chamber of Commerce June 20 to raise the Philadelphia Pride Flag above Old City Hall in recognition of Pride Month.
The Philadelphia Office of LGBT Affairs adopted the flag in June 2017, designed to address racism and represent a more inclusive LGBTQ community. Black and brown stripes were added to the traditional Pride flag’s red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet.
The socially-distant, rooftop ceremony was intentionally small in response to COVID-19. Castor was joined by Equality Florida Executive Director Nadine Smith, Tampa Bay LGBT Chamber of Commerce CEO Justice Gennari and Chair Christie Hattersley as well as State Rep. Adam Hattersley to reflect on the intersectionality of LGBTQ civil rights.
Castor began the ceremony by addressing Pride Month and the cancellation of LGBTQ celebrations throughout Tampa Bay. The coronavirus prompted both Tampa Pride and St Pete Pride to cancel their annual in-person festivities this year.
“We’ve had to curtail those celebrations, so today we’re very excited here in the city of Tampa to be able to raise our Pride flag,” Castor said. “When we do raise the Pride flag I would like everyone to pay attention to this particular flag because it has a black and brown stripe to be inclusive of all of our minority communities.”
Gennari spoke next, advising that the chamber was proud to participate and represent the minority-owned businesses throughout the seven counties served by the Tampa Bay LGBT Chamber. “Diversity is good for business,” he said. “We stand in solidarity for all minorities for the community. I believe that Pride has taken a special meaning this year with celebrating the Black Lives Matter movement; I hope we can all reflect on that s we celebrate Pride this year.”
Smith subsequently called Pride’s origins at the Stonewall Inn more than 50 years ago an inflection point. “It was a moment that began to mark not just the pushback against police brutality,” she shared, “but a new envisioning of what America could be for the LGBTQ community.”
The LGBTQ community’s fight for civil rights has always been tied to the fight for racial justice, she noted. Reflecting on the riots and the Supreme Court’s June 15 ruling affirming federal LGBTQ workplace protections, Smith explained that “you cannot seek justice for the LGBTQ community without seeking justice for those targeted because of race or religion or gender. Pride Month for me is the moment where all of those things come together.”
State Rep. Hattersley, a longtime LGBTQ ally and area resident who is seeking to represent Florida’s 15th congressional district in the U.S. House, also reflected on Pride Month. “It’s an honor to live right here in Hillsborough County where everyone is inclusive and ready to help celebrate Pride,” he said.
Castor, who also served as Tampa’s first openly LGBTQ police chief in addition to the city’s mayor, concluded by reflecting on Pride and the Black Lives Matter movement. She called on all citizens of Tampa to “see the common humanity and work together to be a better place.”
“More than five decades later, Stonewall is still celebrated as a time when a community said ‘enough is enough’ and intensified the work of securing equality under the law,” Castor shared. “Today, Pride Month arrives as people have once again taken to the streets in response to injustice … Let’s all see beyond our own story. I will listen to understand and act to make Tampa a place where everyone is included, respected and protected as equals.”
You can watch the ceremony in full and listen to Castor’s speech in a subsequent video shared by the city below:
The chamber also shared a video of the June 20 ceremony and reflected on its importance June 22:
The city of Tampa joins Hillsborough County in recognizing Pride Month. On June 1, county commissioners raised the Pride flag in front of the County Center to show their support. The neighboring cities of St. Petersburg and Largo also marked the occasion.
For more information about Equality Florida, the Tampa Bay LGBT Chamber or Rep. Hattersley’s campaign, visit EQFL.org, DiversityTampaBay.org and HattersleyForCongress.com.
