Belmont Pride March Along Concord Avenue, Belmont Center On Saturday, June 15

Photo: Belmont Pride March is this Saturday, June 15

Belmont LGBTQ+ Alliance, Belmont Against Racism, and Human Rights Campaign are holding the annual Belmont Pride March and Celebration on Saturday, June 15, at 1 p.m., starting at the Belmont Town Green across from First Church Belmont at 404 Concord Ave.

The day will begin at 12:45 p.m. with opening remarks as residents gather before the parade. The parade will include a short march along Concord Avenue up to Belmont High School before returning through Belmont Center back to the Green. The route is relatively flat and accommodating for everyone.

Belmont’s (Shorter) Pride Parade Set For Saturday, June 17

Photo: Pride is coming to Belmont on June 17

The Pride Parade, the highlight of Belmont Pride, will be a tad shorter this edition but for all the best reasons.

Hosted by the Belmont LGBTQ+ Alliance; and co-sponsored by Belmont Against Racism and the Human Rights Campaign, Belmont Pride takes place on the Town Green adjacent to 404 Concord Ave., First Church Belmont, on Saturday, June 17 at 12:45 p.m. The parade begins at 1 p.m.

The event begins with opening remarks before the parade. This year we’ve changed the march route to make it shorter, flatter, and more accommodating for everyone. (see map below) 

After the parade, join us to celebrate Fran Yuan at 2:45 PM at Trinktisch (indoors, 2nd level) in Belmont Center on Leonard Street. 

As Anti-Gay Laws Increase Nationwide, Belmont’s Pride Parade Demonstrates Support For Equity, Inclusion

Photo: The third Belmont Pride Parade in Belmont Center

Ziza Soares would likely be fired from her job if she was working in Florida. And in some states, what the Chenery Middle School six grade teacher did on Saturday would have been seen as worthy of prosecution.

In Florida under Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “Don’t Say Gay” legislation, which becomes law on July 1, Soares would find her teaching position in jeopardy just by being an openly gay educator. While the Florida law prohibits classroom discussion about sexual orientation and gender identity to kindergarten and elementary students up to third grade, critics contend the ultimate goal of the legislation is to “muzzle any discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity” by all public educators.

Chenery Middle School educator Ziza Soares

“I am out in school … and I’m pretty confident that I would, at least at the end of the school year, not be invited back if I taught there,” said Soares, who is in her second year as an English Arts educator.

And as co-advisor with Crystal Waters of the school’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance, Soares came to the Town Green on Saturday, June 11 with approximately 40 Chenery 5th to 8th grade students – between 10 and 14 years old – to march in Belmont’s third Pride Parade, the town’s celebration promoting awareness, inclusion and equity. In states in the US South and Midwest, Soares’ action would be viewed as promoting the gay lifestyle onto children which would bring her to the attention of state officials.

”I feel so bad for the students but also I feel so bad for the teachers who are put in impossible positions that no one should be put in,” she said.

Countering anti-gay laws spreading throughout the country, more than 300 residents, supporters, students and parents took to the streets on a warm Saturday for a boisterous trek through Belmont to support pride and the progress made in gender and sexual equality. With speeches and a town proclamation read by Adam Dash to start the day, the parade got underway with a Belmont Police detail as Soares’ middle schoolers demonstrated a non-stop energy that was evident from start to finish.

Marchers were greeted by honking horns along with cheers and waves as the event was the largest and most successful in its history.

”This is a great day to come together and celebrate each other and our allies and recognize the progress that we’ve made in the community over the past years,” said Dr. John Davis, a member of the Belmont LGBTQ+ Alliance leadership team which co-sponsors the annual march.

While Belmont and Massachusetts are viewed as progressive on the subject of equality, the same can not be said for nearly half the states in the US, according to Davis.

“Anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ legislation is occurring at an unprecedented level across the country. And this includes 25 bills in more than 20 states.” While laws and measures taking place around the country “may not affect us directly here in Belmont or in Massachusetts, it does have an effect particularly on our youth who hear these discriminatory bills and feel threatened and powerless,” said Davis.

“So we cannot give up the fight. That’s why participating in this march in Belmont, to support LGBTQ+ individuals and groups as they fight discrimination anywhere in the country is so important.”

At the Chenery, that advocacy is provided by the Alliance which provides a safe space for LGBTQ students and allies as well as an opportunity to community build, said Soares.

“We have kids connect with each other. It’s a really important space for them to make sure that they know that there are people in the school that support them, and that want to advocate for them,” she said.

“I just think it’s a great that there’s a community to feel supported by,” said Maia Readi, an eighth grader who came with Alliance.

Second Belmont Pride Parade Sets Off On Saturday, June 12

Photo: Last year’s Belmont Pride Parade.

The Belmont Pride Parade returns for its second tour around Belmont on Saturday, June 12 at 1 p.m. The parade will begin at the Wellington Station Town Green next to the First Church at 404 Concord Ave. across from the underpass to Belmont Center.

The three-mile route will follow last year’s parade starting at the Town Green, continue through the underpass to Channing, Claflin, Alexander, through Belmont Center on Leonard, under bridge taking a right on Common, another right on Waverly, left on Beech, left on Trapelo, left on Common back to the Town Green.

The parade is cosponsored by:

  • Belmont LGBTQ+ Alliance,
  • Belmont Human Rights Commission,
  • First Church in Belmont, and
  • Black and Brown in Belmont.                         

For more information, contact: belmont.hrc@gmail.com

Belmont LGBTQ+ Alliance Marks 20 years of Activism At June 10 BAR Meeting

Photo: Belmont Pride Parade 2020

On Thursday, June 10 at 7:30 pm, Belmont Against Racism’s monthly meeting will focus on 20 years of Belmont LGBTQ+ Alliance activism in Belmont by hosting a panel of speakers that includes Janson Wu, director of LGBTQ+ Legal Advocates and Defenders (GLAD); Grace Stowell, director of The Boston Alliance of LGBTQ+ Youth (BAGLY); and Debra Fowler, co-founder and executive director of History UnErased.

In the past 20 years, the Alliance has brought educational programs and events to Belmont, giving visibility to the LGBTQ+ community and their concerns. From plays to films to speakers’ panels and a performance by the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus, the Alliance has highlighted issues of relevance to the lives of LGBTQ+ individuals, celebrated the arts, and held community social events. In 2004, when same-sex couples in Massachusetts won the right to marry, the Alliance held its first Freedom to Marry Ice Cream Social followed by a decade of this celebration. The Alliance holds an Annual Fall Potluck and marches in the Pride Parade in Boston annually. As the Boston Pride Parade was canceled last year, the Alliance held its own Belmont Pride Parade, attended by more than 100 marchers. 

This year the Alliance will hold its 2nd Belmont Pride Parade on Saturday, June 12 at 1 p.m., starting at the Wellington Station Town Green on Concord Avenue. All members of the community are invited to join this festive event.

To join the June 10 event, go to: https://bit.ly/33XSxcb

For more information about any of these events and future Alliance events, go to http://belmontagainstracism.org/ or email belmontagainstracism@gmail.com.