The Fort Bragg City Council has voted to proclaim June as Pride Month in the city.
At the beginning of its May 27 meeting, the council heard a presentation on why the city is dedicating June to honoring the LGBTQ+ community.
“Fort Bragg is committed to being inclusive and welcoming of all, regardless of their sexual orientation,” Mayor Jason Godeke said, reading from a proclamation passed by the council. “We are a diverse community and are enriched by this diversity.”
Godeke also spoke about the importance of protecting LGBTQ+ people, noting that transgender individuals and queer people of color are being particularly targeted under the current presidential administration and in various states around the country.
“Fort Bragg is committed to being inclusive and welcoming of all, regardless of their sexual orientation. We are a diverse community and are enriched by this diversity.” Fort Bragg city proclamation honoring Pride Month
In an interview, Godeke explained why it is meaningful for the city of Fort Bragg to create its own proclamation formally dedicating June as Pride Month.
“A proclamation like that helps in some small way. It’s an opportunity for the LGBTQIA+ community to feel that support, for families to be there, for allies to be there,” he said. “And to really gather as a community to express that support.”
The Mendocino County Safe Space Project, a Fort Bragg-based advocacy group that creates safe spaces for LGBTQIA+ folks, will be holding the Fort Bragg Pride March on June 21. The march will begin at 11:30 a.m. at Main and Laurel streets and end at the Larry Spring Museum at noon. People can contact the group via email for more information.