ABOVE: Elected officials gather to raise the Pride flag above City Hall June 1. Photo by Ryan Williams-Jent.
ST. PETERSBURG | LGBTQ advocates from throughout Tampa Bay gathered June 1 at City Hall to raise the Pride flag ahead of the second annual Light Up with Pride.
Each event marked the beginning of Pride Month in the city, home of Florida’s largest LGBTQ Pride celebration. This year’s outing has been reimagined as St Pete PrideFest to feature festivities all month long.
The flag raising was the first official event of the season. Mayor Rick Kriseman, who has hosted the gathering throughout his two terms, welcomed other elected officials, representatives from St Pete Pride and more for the inclusive ceremony.
“I have never been more proud to be your mayor,” Kriseman shared. “This is my last Pride flag raising and these past seven years have gone fast … it feels as if we were just raising the flag over City Hall for the first time.
“As special as each flag raising ceremony is to me, that first one is one I’ll always cherish because we weren’t just raising a flag,” he continued. “We were turning the page to a new chapter in St. Petersburg – and we have come a long way, by working together. That’s what it’s all about here in St. Pete.”
Kriseman subsequently introduced a number of city officials in attendance, highlighting Deputy Mayor Dr. Kanika Tomalin, LGBTQ Liaisons Jim Nixon and St. Petersburg Police Lt. Markus Hughes as well as City Council. The body includes Darden Rice, who is running to succeed the term-limited mayor and would make local LGBTQ history if elected.
“Today’s flag raising at City Hall to kick off Pride Month was especially meaningful for me because it was my last as a member of City Council,” she shared with Watermark. “I hope that next year I will be leading this important ceremony as St. Petersburg’s first openly LGBTQ mayor.”
St Pete Pride President Nathan Bruemmer spoke after Kriseman. The mayor thanked the nonprofit’s leader and the rest of its board for ensuring festivities moved forward this year after 2020’s cancellation.
Bruemmer began by reflecting on the news that Governor Ron DeSantis kicked off Pride Month by signing Senate Bill 1028 into law. The anti-LGBTQ legislation targets transgender youth, banning the vulnerable population from playing sports which align with their gender identity.
He echoed Kriseman, who ahead of his official remarks directly addressed DeSantis, advising that his signing on Pride Month was intentional. “He knew exactly what he was doing by signing it today,” Kriseman said. “It is wrong on so many levels and I say this directly to you, Mr. Governor. We expect more than what we got today.”
“As a native Floridian, as a kid who grew up in the Tampa Bay area, and as an out and proud transgender man, one of the few in a position to lead an LGBTQ organization,” Bruemmer began, “I want to say first and foremost. To our kiddos: we love you and we see you, and we fight for you.
“Pride is about our protest, our history,” he continued. “The imperfect reflection of that history, because we have forgotten many of the most marginalized that got us where we are today. We will uplift those voices … to make sure everyone is in the fight for equality as a part of St Pete Pride and a part of this community.”
Bruemmer subsequently reflected on this year’s official St Pete Pride events, detailed in the current issue of Watermark. He noted that organizers expect next year’s celebration, its landmark 20th, to bring back the parade.
“Be proud of who you are, celebrate Pride every day, but most of all for the next month,” he said. “Happy Pride!”
State Rep. Michele Rayner, the first Black, openly LGBTQ woman elected to the Florida Legislature, spoke next. She began by condemning DeSantis’ actions, which she strongly fought against in Tallahassee.
“It is not lost on me what the person that occupies the governor’s mansion decided to do today, but … I’m determined that he won’t get to co-opt Pride Month. He doesn’t get to take our month and to take the first day of Pride and make it about a hateful bill.
“It’s not lost on me standing here as a Black, queer woman that I understand what the origins of Pride were,” she continued. “It was Black trans women; brown trans women, lesbian women that were fighting against oppression. So guess what? We are going to celebrate that like we’ve never celebrated before.”
Kriseman also presented Bruemmer with a Pride proclamation, another tradition. In a city first, however, officials raised the Progress Pride flag above City Hall.
The design expands upon the traditional Pride flag’s red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet to include black, brown, white, pink and light blue. The additions represent the more marginalized voices in the LGBTQ community, individuals of color and those who are transgender.
Watermark was on hand to witness this year’s ceremony. View our photos below.
Photos by Ryan Williams-Jent.
Following the ceremony, the second annual Light Up with Pride was held throughout St. Petersburg. Spearheaded by LGBTQ Liaison Jim Nixon, the initiative began last year after St Pete Pride’s cancellation.
Designed to show support for the area’s LGBTQ community, Light Up with Pride partnered with community organizations to light landmarks throughout the city in rainbow colors. Participants are encouraged to do so throughout June.
“Moving beyond 2020 when St Pete Pride was canceled, and with the current hateful rhetoric coming out of Tallahassee, Light Up with Pride is a celebration of a community that is not just tolerated but celebrated,” Nixon says. “The LGBTQ+ community is built into the fabric of this great city and that impact is visible every day, not just June 1st or during Pride Month.”
This year’s landmarks included:
View Watermark’s photos from the inaugural event here and Nixon’s photos from its follow-up below.
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