City of Fresno proclaims June as Pride Month for Fresno State
Jun 2, 2023
A crowd of over 100 supporters at Fresno State cheered on Thursday as Fresno City Council Vice President Annalisa Perea proclaimed June as LGBTQ Pride Month on behalf of the city of Fresno.
The morning sun beamed over the audience of students, staff, faculty and community members who gathered outside of the Frank W. Thomas Building for the raising of the Progressive Pride flag on Thursday, June 1.
Perea presented a proclamation signed by Mayor Jerry Dyer and Fresno city councilmembers to Lexey Jenkins, LGBTQ+ Student Coordinator for the Cross Cultural and Gender Center; Fresno State President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval; and Peter Robertson, director of alumni connections for the Fresno State Alumni Association.
“Celebrating Pride Month annually fosters awareness, reaffirms support and advocacy for Fresno’s LGBTQ+ community,” Perea said. “Now therefore, we have resolved that the progressive Pride flag will be raised at California State University [Fresno] on June 1st in recognition of all LGBTQ+ residents who make Fresno a rightward city in which we live, visit or employ. Be it further resolved that we, council vice president, the mayor of the city and Fresno City Council, do hereby proclaim June 2023 as LGBTQ+ Pride Month.”
Perea is the first openly gay Fresno City council member and told the audience she wants is in her position to give a voice to the LGBTQ community and to help create a more diverse, inclusive city.
“Visibility definitely matters. It’s important to continue to have discussions and continue to invest in things like the LGBTQ+ minor degree here at Fresno State. It’s all about continuing to have these conversations, and making sure that we’re highlighting the discrimination that continues to happen, and not being afraid to have those conversations,” Perea told The Collegian.
She said the significance of these conversations need to be followed with solutions by continuing to provide resources from the city and helping the most vulnerable.
June has been recognized as national LGBTQ Pride month in honor of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan, New York. Pride Month has been celebrated since 1970 after the first inaugural Pride march took place in New York City on June 28, 1970, according to the Library of Congress.
This was the third annual year of the Pride flag raising on campus. Jenkins emphasized the importance of the flag-raising for students and the community because of Fresno State’s role as a “big stakeholder of the Central Valley.”
“It means a lot to our students because LGBTQ students hold an invisible identity,” Jenkins said. “You can’t tell from the surface that someone is queer, gender non-conforming, trans, any LGBTQ+ identity. Being able to see a visual representation of your identity on campus is huge. It gives a sense of belonging at the school,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins emphasized that the LGBTQ+ community on campus had multiple milestones this year. One of them was the implementation of an LGBTQ+ studies minor.
“I, as president, am in full support of the LGBTQ community,” Jiménez-Sandoval said after his introduction. “I’m here because as president, it is my responsibility to create an ecosystem that embraces and celebrates you. The LGBTQ community is so fundamental to Fresno State.”
Jiménez-Sandoval said he is aware of the history that has marginalized the LGBTQ community, and the way to make things right is to uncover those histories in order to empower a community of members who are the “best version of themselves” that can learn from each other.
Following the president, Jonathan Gonzalez shared his experience being one of the first students who enrolled in the LGBTQ+ Studies minor this past semester while majoring in sociology.
He told The Collegian he wasn’t aware of the minor until professor Katherine Fobear approached him, making him aware of it. Gonzalez said he was eager to do it.
“Especially now with the climate how everything is right now throughout the country of anti-LGBT stuff,” Gonzalez said, mentioning Target and its recent controversy. “It’s kind of my way of resisting the erasure of the whole community itself to our systems. Especially education systems with children and especially the trans community.”
He said the flag is that representation that LGBTQ+ students need right now.
“It’s acknowledging our existence of the [LGBTQ+] community within our own communities and campus itself,” Gonzalez said.
Eulyses Lopez, who will begin as a graduate student in Student Affairs and College Counseling in the fall, told The Collegian he heard about the event through his job and wanted to see the flag raising for the first time on campus as an ally.
“It makes me feel happy because I know not many campuses do something like this where you do Pride flag raising. Being able to see this on my campus especially since it’s the beginning of Pride Month, it feels pretty special.”
Lopez said he knows it’s special to students who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community and wanted to support in any way he could.
Some of the other milestones Jenkins highlighted included the 10th annual Rainbow graduation, marking it the first year with an official trademarked Fresno State stole.
Rainbow graduation students received tassels, a stole and medallions at no cost due to donations from the Rainbow Alumnx and Allies Club.
Robertson, along with others from the Alumni Association, helped fundraise for the stoles. He shared the meaning of representation on campus, coming from his perspective as LGBTQ+ member and Fresno State alumni himself.
“Fresno State does not have a lot of reflections of the LGBTQ community on campus, as well as our allies. So this flag raising is so important because for the next 30 days there will be LGBTQ representation on campus and it’s a beautiful thing,” Robertson said.
He said students who are looking for welcoming resources should reach out to the United Student Pride club, CCGC and participate in weekly Queer Talks on campus.
Cher Gamble, a recent Rainbow Alumnx graduate, recited a poem she wrote to the crowd before Perea announced the proclamation from the city to the crowd.
Jenkins and Perea raised the Progressive Pride Flag together to conclude the ceremony.
Perea shared a piece of advice for students who are struggling with their identity or finding safe spaces.
“Never give up. There’s going to be days that are hard, and I can speak for myself, but it does get better. Hang in there and know that you do have the support from the City of Fresno, and the support group here on campus is stronger than ever.”
She said students shouldn’t be afraid to reach out for help.
There will be another Progressive Pride Flag raising for Fresno in front of Fresno City Hall Friday, June 9 at 10 a.m.
“We invite students. We invite faculty to come out. We really just want to show from a city standpoint that the City of Fresno is a 100% supporter of the LGBTQ community,” Perea said.
