Pride 2022
Ruby Gifford '22 Op-Ed Editor
The first Pride was a riot. What does that mean for Howard High students today?
Although the Stonewall Riots are credited with catalyzing the LGBTQ+ rights movement, gay Pride manifested in its own ways in every city across the country, including our very own Baltimore.
Most pro-LGBTQ+ organizations, publications and groups in Baltimore materialized out of one of two main communities. The first of these communities was religious communities. The Baltimore Chapter of the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), established in 1972, was one of the earliest organizations in Baltimore to make gay rights one of their main goals.
The second of the two communities from which pro-LGBTQ+ groups arose was students. Throughout the 1970s, pride events were organized through the Johns Hopkins News-Letter, the original home of the Gay Student Alliance. Students have been one of the main driving forces for gay rights in the DC-Baltimore metropolitan area for over 50 years.
Now, 53 years after Stonewall, the landscape for queer life has changed drastically. Instead of a protest, Pride is now a celebration of identity and community. Consequently, the meaning of Pride for students has changed too. “To me, Pride means being proud of my identity and celebrating that identity with other queer people,” says Howard High senior and GSA President Onyx Nagiecka (they/them). “Even as things have progressed, it’s still kind of hard to be openly queer. I think pride is all about pushing back against anything holding you down and just celebrating who you are as a positive thing.”
After virtual school interrupted in-person Pride events and gatherings, the GSA is finally able to pass the torch of Howard High queer representation to the underclassmen in person.
For some high school students, this year’s Pride is the first in-person Pride they’ve been able to participate in. “That fulfillment of figuring out how you are is what I think about when I think of pride,” says freshman Aayusa Acharya (she/her). “I’m a lesbian and when I figured that out, I knew myself so well and everything made sense. I could be all those things that had felt weird and shameful. Everything that felt shameful no longer felt bad anymore because I understood it.”
This is also the first year that many students are celebrating Pride in-person at all. “Most of my celebrations have been virtual because I found out that [I was a lesbian] while we were in quarantine,” Acharya continues, “But I’m excited to learn all the ways I can show up in all the places that are accessible to me this year.”
“You can have individual pride in being yourself and knowing that you are queer. Especially from a [trans] perspective, giving yourself your own name can be a point of pride,” comments Nagiecka, “But then there’s also this collective pride where you bring your individual pride into a space with other queer people to then create a bigger pride among a group. It’s really important to me to make sure that other people know about the GSA and know that there are people that will support them.”
Having individual pride in one’s queer identity can be celebrated by simply wearing a pin or jewelry with a pride flag on it. To celebrate collectively, communities celebrate by organizing parades, festivals and other events to proclaim their support and pride for queer culture. Throughout the DC-Baltimore area, and even in Howard County itself, there are various ways for Howard students to celebrate their queer pride and support for their community.
Celebrate Pride this June by attending the following events in the Howard County and DMV area:
Date and Information:
June 4
Catonsville Annual Family Pride
3:30 PM - 5:30 PM
@ Catonsville Presbyterian Church
June 4
Annapolis Pride 2022 Parade and Festival
12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
@ West Street and Calvert Street
June 6
HCPSS Rainbow Vision Reception
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
@ Busboys and Poets, Columbia
June 7
HCPSS Kids Read the Rainbow
6:00 PM
VIRTUAL
June 8
HCPSS Pride Picnics
Hourly @ 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 PM
@ Howard County Conservancy
June 9
HCPSS FUNdraiser @ Main Event
6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
@ Main Event
June 10
HCPSS Pride Movie Night: The Mitchells VS. The Machines (PG)
7:00 PM
@ Oakland Mills High School Auditorium
June 10
HCPSS Pride Movie Night: The Half of It (PG-13)
7:00 PM
@ Long Reach High School Auditorium
June 22
Baltimore Family Pride
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
@ Druid Hill Park
June 23
Baltimore Youth Pride
4:00 PM - 9:00 PM
@ North Ave Market
June 25
Baltimore Pride Parade
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
@ N Charles St. and 33rd Street
June 25
Baltimore Pride Block Party
3:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Continuation of Baltimore Pride Parade
June 26
Baltimore Pride in the Park
12:00 PM - 6:00 PM
@ Druid Hill Park
Events may require registration. Find more information at:
https://www.baltimorepride.org/
https://www.capitalpride.org/
https://sites.google.com/hcpss.org/hcpssrainbowconference/home
Although the Stonewall Riots are credited with catalyzing the LGBTQ+ rights movement, gay Pride manifested in its own ways in every city across the country, including our very own Baltimore.
Most pro-LGBTQ+ organizations, publications and groups in Baltimore materialized out of one of two main communities. The first of these communities was religious communities. The Baltimore Chapter of the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), established in 1972, was one of the earliest organizations in Baltimore to make gay rights one of their main goals.
The second of the two communities from which pro-LGBTQ+ groups arose was students. Throughout the 1970s, pride events were organized through the Johns Hopkins News-Letter, the original home of the Gay Student Alliance. Students have been one of the main driving forces for gay rights in the DC-Baltimore metropolitan area for over 50 years.
Now, 53 years after Stonewall, the landscape for queer life has changed drastically. Instead of a protest, Pride is now a celebration of identity and community. Consequently, the meaning of Pride for students has changed too. “To me, Pride means being proud of my identity and celebrating that identity with other queer people,” says Howard High senior and GSA President Onyx Nagiecka (they/them). “Even as things have progressed, it’s still kind of hard to be openly queer. I think pride is all about pushing back against anything holding you down and just celebrating who you are as a positive thing.”
After virtual school interrupted in-person Pride events and gatherings, the GSA is finally able to pass the torch of Howard High queer representation to the underclassmen in person.
For some high school students, this year’s Pride is the first in-person Pride they’ve been able to participate in. “That fulfillment of figuring out how you are is what I think about when I think of pride,” says freshman Aayusa Acharya (she/her). “I’m a lesbian and when I figured that out, I knew myself so well and everything made sense. I could be all those things that had felt weird and shameful. Everything that felt shameful no longer felt bad anymore because I understood it.”
This is also the first year that many students are celebrating Pride in-person at all. “Most of my celebrations have been virtual because I found out that [I was a lesbian] while we were in quarantine,” Acharya continues, “But I’m excited to learn all the ways I can show up in all the places that are accessible to me this year.”
“You can have individual pride in being yourself and knowing that you are queer. Especially from a [trans] perspective, giving yourself your own name can be a point of pride,” comments Nagiecka, “But then there’s also this collective pride where you bring your individual pride into a space with other queer people to then create a bigger pride among a group. It’s really important to me to make sure that other people know about the GSA and know that there are people that will support them.”
Having individual pride in one’s queer identity can be celebrated by simply wearing a pin or jewelry with a pride flag on it. To celebrate collectively, communities celebrate by organizing parades, festivals and other events to proclaim their support and pride for queer culture. Throughout the DC-Baltimore area, and even in Howard County itself, there are various ways for Howard students to celebrate their queer pride and support for their community.
Celebrate Pride this June by attending the following events in the Howard County and DMV area:
Date and Information:
June 4
Catonsville Annual Family Pride
3:30 PM - 5:30 PM
@ Catonsville Presbyterian Church
June 4
Annapolis Pride 2022 Parade and Festival
12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
@ West Street and Calvert Street
June 6
HCPSS Rainbow Vision Reception
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
@ Busboys and Poets, Columbia
June 7
HCPSS Kids Read the Rainbow
6:00 PM
VIRTUAL
June 8
HCPSS Pride Picnics
Hourly @ 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 PM
@ Howard County Conservancy
June 9
HCPSS FUNdraiser @ Main Event
6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
@ Main Event
June 10
HCPSS Pride Movie Night: The Mitchells VS. The Machines (PG)
7:00 PM
@ Oakland Mills High School Auditorium
June 10
HCPSS Pride Movie Night: The Half of It (PG-13)
7:00 PM
@ Long Reach High School Auditorium
June 22
Baltimore Family Pride
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
@ Druid Hill Park
June 23
Baltimore Youth Pride
4:00 PM - 9:00 PM
@ North Ave Market
June 25
Baltimore Pride Parade
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
@ N Charles St. and 33rd Street
June 25
Baltimore Pride Block Party
3:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Continuation of Baltimore Pride Parade
June 26
Baltimore Pride in the Park
12:00 PM - 6:00 PM
@ Druid Hill Park
Events may require registration. Find more information at:
https://www.baltimorepride.org/
https://www.capitalpride.org/
https://sites.google.com/hcpss.org/hcpssrainbowconference/home