Marcus Brown, the Bridgeport Pride Center’s executive director, is fiddling with his walkie talkie, in preparation for the city’s 15th annual Greater Bridgeport Pride celebration. Brown is busy planning but takes time to reflect just hours after hearing the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Tennessee law banning gender affirming care for transgender minors.
Brown wasn’t surprised by the ruling.
“We've seen it coming,” Brown said. “This administration; leaders across the country have made their agenda very clear, and we've always been bracing for that impact and fighting back against it.”
Shortly after the Supreme Court decision, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong issued a statement which said gender affirming care is lifesaving for some. Tong also said it is still legal and accessible in Connecticut and vowed to fight for transgender youth and their families.
Brown, who is also a Democratic state representative, doesn’t like the ruling, but remained positive and directed his attention to the pride event.
He, along with other state representatives have broadly been supportive of pride celebrations in the past. But, Brown said this year's event is more meaningful due to threats at a federal level, which disproportionately affect LGBTQIA+ rights.
Meanwhile, Brown is having fun testing out the range of the walkie talkie as he steps outside and circles the block.
“We need cool walkie talkie nicknames, over,” Brown said.
The pride center’s project manager, Sarah Beirne, radioed him back, jokingly telling him to use Chat GPT, for call signs.
Most of the planning has already been taken care of, but they still have a meeting to iron out details from confirmed performers to figuring out schedules.
Brown and his team, made up of volunteers and staff, later go over a spreadsheet of confirmed guests, and a schedule. He said pride is fun, but they also take it seriously.
“What we have here is a group of people who specifically care about this community and the community at large, and want to put on a great festival that's fun and entertaining,” Brown said. “And that people can come to, without being judged or not accepted.”
Blaze Lovell is one of the members on Brown’s team at the center. Lovell said many people in the community are fearful due to federal threats and holding the pride event is a form of resistance.
“Just putting on something like this is truly an act of bravery and service to the people who are very scared right now, and I mean including us, but at the same time, if we can't be brave for each other, then who will be brave on our behalf?”, Lovell said.
Connecticut is one of the states that is more accepting towards LGBTQIA+ residents. Several LGBTQIA+ members, from Brown, and his colleagues, including fellow State Rep. Dominique Johnson, who represents Norwalk and Westport, are well respected. State Treasurer Erick Russell became the first openly gay Black person to hold state office in the United States when he was elected in 2022.
But Connecticut has also seen some of the same national culture war topics over LGBTQIA+ representation seep in over the years.
Attempts at book bannings over LGBTQIA+ oriented books considered obscene by opponents, have surfaced throughout the state, leading to a bill defending against proposed book bannings, according to previous reporting from Connecticut Public.
Several towns in Connecticut now only allow the U.S. flag to be flown, effectively banning pride flag raisings.
The challenges they face, according to Lovell, is also an inspiration to keep putting on the event.
“We're going to make something great and hopefully do justice to the LGBTQ+ community, especially the trans community, and all the difficulties it's facing right now,” Lovell said.
Bridgeport itself used to have a thriving LGBTQ+ social scene which centered around bars, according to previous reporting from Connecticut Public.
But many of those locations have closed down over the decades, leaving people to head to other areas, from New Haven to Norwalk.
Beirne said Greater Bridgeport Pride has seen way more vendors this year compared to the previous year.
“Last year we had 35 and this year we're 50-60, somewhere around there,” Beirne said.
Their hard work pays off once the parade and festivities actually happens, on a hot Saturday in late June.
Their headliner, Loosey LaDuca, a drag queen who grew up in Ansonia, rushes the stage and sings while making her way to the crowd. She expresses a bit of disappointment when she realizes the crowd isn’t as pumped up as she wants it to be.
“I put this makeup on very early, and I have another gig to go to after this, and if you don't make more noise, I will die on this stage,” LaDuca said.
She said she got her start as a drag queen in Bridgeport.
“Do you know the very first place that I ever did Drag was on Golden Hill Street in Bridgeport, Connecticut,” LaDuca said. “I was at the downtown cabaret theater. Anybody been?”
The festivities didn’t end there, even after the main event. Organizers and others made their way to Trevi Lounge, a popular hangout spot in Fairfield, where they partied past midnight.
