For immediate release

Shoshanna Carroll | Equality NC | shoshanna@equalitync.org| 919-213-1451
Nate Fischer | Equality NC | nate@equalitync.org

Equality NC is proud to announce that our organization will sponsor The Apex Pride Festival this weekend June 11, 2022 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.. Equality NC is also celebrating that this will restore Drag Story Hour to the program, and ensure that our community members in Apex have every right to gather and celebrate. Equality NC is proud to stand with the organizers of Apex Pride, a group of resilient and amazing LGBTQ+ individuals and families, and are excited to invite others to attend the day of celebration.

Kendra R. Johnson (she/her) Equality NC Executive Director said:

"Pride is first and foremost about our community. It has always been about our collective voices, our stories, our resilience and our hopes. What we saw in Apex was an attempt to invade our spaces, to silence us, to disperse us, and limit our freedom to be ourselves in our community. We were extremely disappointed in the actions of the Apex Festival Commission that allowed provocative and misinformed complaints to target and attempt to cancel this Pride event. We are proud to join in support of the Apex Pride organizers and see this event take place. We will not be silent and we will not be forced back into a closet. We look forward to celebrating with our community this weekend, and to honor the long history of Pride as Protest, making space for us, about us, even when they try to silence us. We're proud to say, we're here, we're queer, and we will see you Saturday!"

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Equality North Carolina builds LGBTQ+ power through advocacy, education, and uplifting the stories of queer and trans North Carolinians in pursuit of racial and social justice. www.equalitync.org