In the bucolic, and conservative, small town of Broadview Heights, Ohio — south of Cleveland, north of Akron and right next door to the spectacular Cuyahoga Valley National Park — Jennifer Speer and fellow members of Brecksville/Broadview Heights Pride put on their town’s very first “Pride Fest” in 2023.
“We didn’t know what to expect,” Speer told LGBTQ Nation, who serves as president of the group of LGBTQ+ community members and allies.
The mission of BBH Pride, Speer says, “is to promote awareness, instill acceptance, promote inclusiveness, and foster a welcoming community for all LGBTQ+ individuals. We provide education, workshops, fellowship, meetings, and special events, all with the goal of establishing empathy, respect, and celebration of the LGBTQ+ community.”
Whether or not their more conservative neighbors would tolerate a public display of LGBTQ+ “empathy, respect, and celebration” was an open question for the group in the months leading up to Pride Fest.
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“This was our first annual event and it was being held in a conservative community,” Speer says. “Our goal was to have 250 people — but we had 750! It was a huge success!”
“Even our local police chief gave it high praise,” Speer adds, “and our local media named BBH Pride Fest one of the best celebrations in Northeast Ohio, and this was our very first event!”
“This picture showcases many of the members of BBH Pride who ran the event so successfully,” Speer says, and she’s proud of the “incredible hard work and tenacity of my group, the courage of our LGBTQ+ friends, and the dedication of our allies” in making it happen.
Along with “a huge outpouring of support, donations, and sponsorships,” however, BBH Pride also faced backlash, Speer says.
“We have had to fight adversity to bring our organization to this community, and we continue that fight every day. We’re getting ready to host our 2nd annual Pride Fest and a small anti-LGBTQ+ faction is fighting us. But we are moving forward and the event is on as planned. We cannot wait to hit Pride Fest again on June 8, 2024!”
Pride in Pictures is LGBTQ Nation’s annual series celebrating Pride across the country. We asked our readers to send in their pictures and stories of Pride and we got so many rainbows. Keep an eye out for more heartwarming stories to get you ready for Pride Month 2024.
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