The first general planning meeting for Norman Queer Pride was held Saturday at Hideaway Pizza with one setback: Only the board of directors showed up.
Despite the lack of community turnout, the board members continued its planning for a June 19 event at Andrews Park, where there will be a parade, live music and refreshments.
“I think we’re all pretty committed to holding this event, even if it’s just the four of us,” said Keith Kimmel, Norman Queer Pride executive director.
Kimmel said Norman needs a Pride Parade to educate the community and make it aware of the gay presence.
“Norman stands on its own as a town, and we don’t have [a pride parade],” he said. “If Enid can have a pride parade, then so can we. The community isn’t very visible. We’re trying to bring it out and show it off a little bit.”
Kimmel said a public celebration could improve the general public’s perception of gay people.
“If we’re never visible, people will never know what we’re all about,” Kimmel said. “This allows them to see that we’re not four-eyed, three-legged monsters.”
Enough bands to fill a lineup have offered to play at the event for free, Kimmel said.
A major next step will be to gather support from groups in the Norman community friendly to gays and lesbians, said Kami Day, Norman Queer Pride president.
The parade will help build a more visible gay community, Day said.
“There’s a silly assumption that everybody’s straight,” she said. “I think it’s a lack of education and lack of visibility.”
Kimmel said the low turnout for the planning meeting was disappointing but expected.
“Once we get this thing up and running it will build itself,” he said. “We just need to give it that initial shove.”
The parade, he said, would happen no matter how much support they received.
The next planning meeting will be at 7 p.m. March 23 at IHOP in Norman. To contact Norman Queer Pride, e-mail NormanQueerPride@gmail.com or join its Facebook group.
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mustafa 2 years, 3 months ago
Maybe it is the queer word. Duh.
The homosexual movement usurped the meaning of the word "gay," claiming that people needed an alternative to derogatory terms like "queer" and "faggot."
So why do they keep pushing the term queer as a legitimate term for homosexual?
Queer Pride, Queer Parade, Queer Norman, Queer nation
Kimmel says he wants the community to be more visible and the larger public to take note of them. What he means is without such visibility straights won't know who to shun and thus homosexuals can't play the role of the persecuted minority.
jsacker80 2 years, 2 months ago
“Once we get this thing up and running it will build itself,” he said. “We just need to give it that initial shove.”
The parade, he said, would happen no matter how much support they received.
Interesting. If no one showed up, yet we continue to push or "shove" the agenda, what exactly are we pushing and shoving? A parade happening no matter the support, even the lack of support from the homosexual community, is pretty much "retarded." That's a politically correct way of saying you seem to have a mental handicap of some sort that you are unable to adapt to.