Back when Sandie Elliot was growing up in Evanston, she and her LGBTQ+ friends were left to fend for themselves. Now as a board member at Evanston Pride, she makes sure this isn’t the case for future generations to come.
“It sent a message to me and my friends that there wasn’t anything for us to look at, we had no one to turn to,” Elliot said when discussing Evanston’s lack of LGBTQ+ programming during her youth. “You didn’t see anyone like us. You know, so you either ventured out beyond your backyard into the city or you just basically accepted it for what it was.”
This predicament has since improved for Evanston’s youth as Evanston Pride put on its Youth Car Parade. At 1 p.m. on Sunday, June 5, Pride-themed cars took to the streets starting at Evanston Township High School with four other viewing spots along the way. These viewing spots included landmarks like Fountain Square and Ingraham Park.
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Once the car parade hit Ingraham Park, it dissipated into a post-parade gathering where community members celebrated Pride month. At the park, Evanston Pride gave out water, snacks, tattoos and other trinkets.
“Watching those kids … after the car parade was amazing,” Elliot said. “Because you could see they had a sense of ownership and they were actually anxious [with excitement] to speak up about themselves. I thought that was fantastic to watch them and so many 10, 12, 13-year-olds talk about themselves and be proud of it. That’s the way it should be.”
This struck a similar chord with Evanston Pride’s President Jackson Adams, who is happy to see the conversation flowing, breaking down any stigma potentially surrounding the LGBTQ+ community.
“Sometimes I think, ‘God, it would be so much easier to come out of the closet had we talked about and had we been open about it.'” Adams said. “So I think the fact that we started breaking the stigma at a younger age and to hear … the kids just talk [about] how they identify — I think it’s so cool.”
The parade was centered around the theme of “Unity, Equality, Visibility,” which is something Adams thinks is essential during this time.
“There’s a lot going on right now in our country,” Adams said. “Prior to launching Pride, we launched posters in response to the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill in Florida. We launched a poster that said, ‘we fight for our trans and non-gender community,’ you know, because those are folks that are again seeing their rights as citizens challenged. There are a lot of children [and] youth that identify as such.”
Another way Evanston Pride focused on visibility was by working with local businesses to flood the streets with Pride-themed decorations. While some have criticized businesses for potentially being performative during Pride month festivities, Adams said their participation helped drive the mission home.
“It’s been said several times, people’s kids have come home from college or from being away and just see that these businesses are willing to fly the pride progress flag or a trans flag,” Adams said. “It gives them a sense of safe space, the safe feeling that they are welcome here. So it’s important that they see it and it’s visible.”
When Evanston Pride first came about in 2020, the group sent out a survey to the community to see where the organization should allot its time and resources. Adams and Elliot said the survey disclosed youth as a top priority.
The Pride Youth Car Parade is one of the few Pride events targeted toward youth in the Chicagoland. Some pride events create an atmosphere many children wouldn’t attend, such as Chicago Pride Fest with its scheduled performance by rapper CupcakKe, who is known for their more explicit musical style.
Evanston Pride is holding a candle lighting and remembrance ceremony on June 12 and a picnic on July 30. More information on these events can be found on their website
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.Corey Schmidt is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.