This Pride Month, celebrations take on added significance for LGBTQ+ Floridians who have been the focus of restrictive new laws in recent years.
And for Black and LGBTQ+ residents, June takes on extra significance because it’s also Juneteenth, a holiday celebrated on June 19, that recognizes the emancipation of enslaved people.
Darius Lightsey is the secretary of St. Pete Pride. He’s also the organizer of Shades of Pride, a two-day Juneteenth LGBTQ+ art and music festival that ran last weekend. Lightsey says Pride is about more than how you identify or who you choose to love.
And he says there are parallels with Juneteenth, as both are a celebration of freedom and recognition of the struggle of marginalized communities.
“The significance, to me, of Juneteenth is to never forget from whence we've come, to never forget that there were people that did not have the same rights and privileges that I do today,” Lightsey said.
“I recognize the significance of being able to celebrate freedom, and diversity, and also the freedom to be free, which is what many of our ancestors did not have. And the freedom to openly be who you want to be, love who you want to love, identify how you want to identify.”
Tamara Leigh moved to St. Petersburg from New York at the start of the pandemic. She’s the founder and editor of Blaque/OUT Magazine, an online publication that celebrates, showcases, and educates around Black queer culture. She also founded a social media community called the Tampa Bay Black Lesbians, as a way to create community for Black queer-identifying women in Tampa.
“What is interesting is once you get here and get involved, you realize that it is very white LGBTQ. There still is not much space here for the Black and Brown queer community, unless it sort of falls into line with traditionally understood white, queer society,” Leigh said.
Leigh is credited with helping push St. Pete Pride to be more diverse and helping to bring Juneteenth into the celebration.
She described St. Petersburg as one of the most LGBTQ+ friendly cities in Florida.
“There is a dichotomy of sorts that is on the one hand extremely LGBTQ friendly. But that friendliness sort of looks one way and there's an expectation of it being carried out and represented one way.”
With her help, there has been a huge shift in the leadership of St. Pete Pride. Leigh says the board went from mostly cisgendered, white people to a board with the majority of people coming from different backgrounds and gender identities.
Creating events centered around Black people and events celebrating Juneteenth during Pride was extremely important for Leigh. Oftentimes, Black and Brown queer people struggle fitting in anywhere. Leigh says they’re often too Black for LGBTQ+ events and community and too gay for Black events and community.
“You just aren't fully accepted in either. And so, you live in this gray area where often nothing exists. You're asked to water down one part of your personality and one part of who you are or another, and neither side is really ever fully met because it doesn't speak to all of the pieces of your intersexuality, all the pieces of who you are.”
The result was the Shades of Pride event that included panel discussions around Black trans lives and LGBTQ+ influencers, along with a ball and poetry slam.
“I think more than anything is the visibility of the thing. I think seeing a huge Pride festival like St. Petersburg really emphasizing Black queer culture and celebrating it sends a message to the rest of the Prides and the rest of the state that they better get with it. But also reminding people why we even have a Pride and what we should be out here fighting for.”
