The FIRST ever PRIDEFEST in Macomb brought over 480 wonderful human beings together to celebrate our LGBTQ*A friends, family members, allies, supporters, visitors, and students in and around the Macomb, Illinois community.
We were honored and blessed to partner with so many wonderful allies and groups. Hosting this event in our extremely conservative, culturally-hostile community was to visibly proclaim our love for and affirm the dignity and humanity of all members of our LGBTQIA family.
All persons of goodwill who wish to help us plan next year’s event and make it even bigger, please contact us! We’d love to have your ideas and support.
We seek to provide a safe space for all attendees to enjoy the freedoms all should enjoy with gender expression/gender identity until such time that every space is made safe and validating for all members of our community.
We proudly welcomed many McDonough County Clergy members in attendance, many with members of their churches living in hiding from their own churches and other members due to risk of bullying, marginalization, and expulsion from their churches. We have allied with those who are working to try to confront such misguided congregations in our county.
We pledge our support and allyship to that end, that all may live, work, play, and visit here, free from being targeted by those individuals who have yet to address their own issues. Those who project homophobia, transphobia, and ignorance onto others in our county will be confronted and held accountable with real-world consequences.
We will no longer silently tolerate ignorance which contributes to a toxic culture which puts members of the LGBTQIA at risk.
Resources
- Glossary of LGBTQIA Terms
- Macomb PrideFest on Facebook
- Macomb PrideFest Organizing Group
- Queer Studies at Western Illinois University
- WIU’s LGBTQ Resource Center
- WIU’s UNITY Group
#NOH8 #LoveWins #MakeItMacomb