COCHRANE— Kindred Cochrane Pride Society is hoping to see the Pride flag fly in Cochrane for the first time ever this year.
The movement is part of the society's plan to help grow Pride's place in the Cochrane community, said newly elected board chair and member of the LGBTQ2S+ community Renita Bartlett.
“We deserve to be recognized and we want to see some acknowledgement that we are safe and we are included in this community,” Bartlett said.
To date, no Pride celebrations have taken place in Cochrane.
Kindred Cochrane Pride is working to make an impact and see more events, recognition and support for the LGBTQ2S+ community in town.
Bartlett said she is hopeful there could potentially be celebrations at the end of June, but the society is still working out the details.
“We want to start off with something,” Bartlett said.
The ultimate goal is to see the Pride flag raised in Cochrane this year, she said explaining how small actions show that Cochrane is a place where people can be who they are and be safe.
Kindred Cochrane Pride Society is a volunteer-run organization that focuses on promoting and celebrating diversity, equality and inclusion for Cochrane and area residents. The society hosts education workshops, fun events and pursues advocacy work for the LGBTQ2S+ community.
She added that Kindred Cochrane Pride has been collaborating with the Morley Two-Spirit Pride Society and Cochrane Rainbows to help promote this goal.
It is exciting having the opportunity to collaborate with other groups in the community to raise awareness and see what other people are doing or may need from Kindred Cochrane.
“They want to feel like our community is a kind community and an inclusive community,” Bartlett said. “The more we show them that it is, the more safe people will feel in Cochrane.”
June is Pride month but communities around the Cochrane area and Canada celebrate different months and different days throughout the year.
“For me as a member of the community and with lived experience Pride is much more than a day or a week or a month. It’s something that’s very important to me but its something that I celebrate all year round,” she said. “It’s not just a one-time thing where I come out and celebrate being part of the community… It’s something that I celebrate every day.”
There are many significant milestones in Pride's history, Bartlett said, citing how it was illegal to be gay in Canada until May 14, 1969 as an example.
“We could have been and were charged for being gay,” Bartlett said. “It’s a very significant day for us in the LGBTQ2S+ community. It means that we're not going to go to jail because we are gay.”
June is celebrated by many because it marks the anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. On June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, spontaneous demonstrations by members of the LGBTQ2S+ community occurred in rebellion to a police raid and mistreatment of the community.
In Canada, Bartlett said the Brunswick Four marks an important date in the push for equal rights for LGBTQ2S+ people. On January 5, 1974, four lesbian women — Adrienne Rosen (formerly Adrienne Potts), Pat Murphy, Sue Wells and Lamar Van Dyke (formerly Heather Elizabeth Nelson) — were thrown out of a Toronto bar and eventually detained by police. The event led to public outcry at their treatment raising awareness about homophobia and harassment in Canada.
She added July 2005 is also a historically important moment because it marks the legalization of gay marriage in Canada.
“I’m happily married to my wife and have been for five years now,” she said. “But, prior to 2005 that wasn’t a possibility for me.”
It is important to acknowledge these significantly historic dates that allowed for the LGBTQ2S+ community to have rights in Canada.
“If folks want to take a look at our Canadian history it’s quite an interesting history that we have,” Bartlett said. “Our history is quite full in this nation.”
Kindred Cochrane Pride will be hosting virtual Pride Bingo on Friday (June 19). Sign-up on the Facebook page to join the game and compete for fun free prizes. Bingo goes live on Kindred Cochrane Pride's Facebook at 7 p.m.
