OSWEGO – In celebration of June’s National Pride Month, Accept Oswego, an LGBTQ+ organization serving the city and county of Oswego, held a drive-by parade through the city on Sunday, June 28.
The organization also held a virtual Pride Party on Saturday, June 27. Some of the guests included were Democratic candidate for State Assembly Gail Tosh, Democratic candidate for Congress Dana Balter, Black Lives Matter Activist Omar van Reenen, as well as other participants.
Tosh hosted Sunday’s parade; both events coming together as a way to honor the last days of National Pride Month, the events concurrent with the dates of the Stonewall Rebellion, the 1969 uprising that took place in New York City after the LBGTQ+ community was targeted by the police.
Accept Oswego was created for the LGBTQ+ youth in the Oswego area; an organization that helps foster self acceptance and public awareness while providing a safe space and helpful resources to create a more open and welcoming community.
Oswego County Opportunities Youth Health Advocate and Accept Oswego founder Alexander Desacia felt the need to show support and solidarity for the silent majority in the Oswego area for both Sunday and Saturday’s events.
“This is definitely important [because] I feel like Oswego doesn’t have a lot of LGBTQ+ representation here and it’s National Pride Month, and we should celebrate it even in a social distance kind of way,” Desacia said.
As a large supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, Desacia is dissatisfied with the lack of city support for solid change concerning racial injustice and police reform against the Black community.
“At the very least, I would like [the city] to acknowledge that Black lives matter and that the Black community is cherished here in Oswego,” Desacia said. “And that [the mayor] stands with them during this difficult time; at the very least.”
Desacia would like to see a reallocation of funding going toward social programs such as the Youth Bureau, which currently receives 0.6% of city funding at this time.
“Just programs to help people in difficult times, such as homelessness [and] drug addiction; all of that kind of stuff that would really help lesson crime rates here in Oswego,” Desacia said.
Tosh, host of Sunday’s event, wanted to embrace National Pride Month while supporting communities dealing with various disparities within the social justice system.
“It’s important right now because we are in a time of social upheaval and change, and the thing about the gay community is we intersect with all other ethnic communities, you know. So, in every community you will find gay people,” Tosh said. “So, it’s our mission here to stand with Black Lives Matter and say that all marginalized lives matter; gay lives, Black lives, differently-abled lives, indigenous lives, women’s lives; that’s why we’re here. We’re hoping to raise awareness of people who are different from other people, by going through town and saying, ‘here we are.'”
Tosh noted this district as having one of the highest suicide rates in the state, expressing the need for better mental health accessibility with a stronger focus on healthcare overall.
“One of the things we worry about is the mental health of gays and lesbians, especially the youth and transgender, for sure. There doesn’t seem to be a large, permanent group for people who need assistance,” Tosh said. “People are still coming out of the closet because people are still growing up and coming to terms with themselves. I’d like to see some support groups. I would like to see some community education, some outreach for people who maybe haven’t met gay people yet or who don’t understand the struggles of people who are different than they are.”
The parade gathered together and started out from the Fort Ontario pool parking lot, ending at the SUNY Oswego C15 parking lot, across from Sheldon Hall.
Discover more from Oswego County Today
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
This parade, high school graduation parade, protesters walking bridge street but we can’t hold a parade in honor of this great country that provides people the right to voice their opinions? If you are going to support and all the previously listed events then support and allow everything. You want to fix social injustice? Start truly supporting everyone’s opinions, beliefs and needs. You can’t pick and choose to ignore things you don’t agree with or make people with different views be criminals yet that is what had happened in the last few months. It is sad people can’t think for themselves or have rational conversations. We are not moving forward but backwards. This 4th of July think about exactly why this country was created and the rights we all have to express different opinions and the fact that you are allowed NOT to agree with everyone. Remember the saying that if we don’t learn from history we are doomed to repeat it. At this point clearly we are doomed to repeat it. The fix is so simply that people keep overlooking it. Make laws that say All people are allowed to do x,y and z. Stop labeling everyone and everything. The problem isn’t what people think it is. It is the general lack of respect for human beings in general.