On April 21st, 2018, Union College will hold its seventh annual Pride Walk. The walk is open to all who wish to support the LGBTQ+ community. In the past, students, professors and Schenectady citizens of all ages have marched in rainbow and other colors and apparel that represent all races, ethnicities and gender identities involved in the gay community.
Last year’s theme focused on the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community and the nation’s growing acceptance of the concept of the fluid identity.
The event will begin at noon in front of Memorial Chapel with opening remarks, followed by a two-mile parade around Union’s campus, food, performances and music.
Pride walks are a historical tradition among the LGBTQ+ community dating back to 1970. In 1969, patrons at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich, New York protested police brutality and legal discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community in the three-day Stonewall Riots.
To commemorate the riots, Pride Walks took place the next year in New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Since then, Pride Walks have spread to other regions in the nation.
In addition to the march, the third annual Queer Monologues will be held on Friday and Saturday, during which students stand and tell stories of queer identity using spoken-word, poetry and prose.