When Queera Nightly, aka Sabine Martin, rides in on a float in Sunday’s Clayton Pride Parade, it will be a far cry from her early days growing up in Clayton in the early 2000s, when she was a he.
Growing up in a Mormon family, Martin did not receive support. Her parents insisted something was wrong with her. She was bullied for being effeminate, and while attending El Dorado Middle School in neighboring Concord, she was called the dreaded “F” word. She “came out” at age 12, a courageous move at a tenuous age for such a huge life event.
Her parents feared the influence of other students “like him” and decided on homeschooling. The isolation she felt grew even more, and she suffered crippling anxiety and depression. At 16, she attended Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill. Finally, she was more socialized and saw more people like her. But that didn’t stop the depression, and she suffered suicide ideation almost constantly.
That’s when she found the Rainbow Community Center in Concord, an organization devoted to the well-being of LGBTQIA+ population and provided education and outreach. Sabine received counseling there for $15, until she couldn’t afford it any longer. “Don’t worry,” her therapist told her. “We’ll see you for free.”
Sabine also received free resume help, got a job and obtained more independence from her family.
A few years ago, she realized she had more road to travel, and began transitioning into a woman for good. She became Sabine, and, to her delight, her alter ego, drag queen Queera.
An unlikely center of Pride
While Martin’s story of her early years is a sadly common tale, what’s happening this weekend in her old hometown isn’t. Clayton— a small, mostly Caucasian enclave of about 10,900 residents at the foot of Mount Diablo next to Concord — is hosting its third Clayton Pride Parade and celebration June 2. It’s not just a simple celebration, it is the largest Pride parade in Contra Costa County.
City and business leaders are behind the parade, which they hope erases Clayton and next-door neighbor Concord’s reputation of being bastions of racism and homophobia.
“Clayton welcomes the Pride Parade which helps represent our community’s inclusivity,” Clayton’s mayor Jim Diaz asserts.
Concord Mayor Edi Birsan agrees. “The importance of the Pride Parade movement is to echo out to the community unity, inclusion and the importance of living in harmony with others,” Birsan says. “Or as we say in Concord, to be in concordance with one another.”
He says that in the 1980s, there were city ordinances in Concord that banned such parades and park permits, but they were overturned by federal courts.
An idea that bloomed
The Pride Parade did not come about as an explosion from city leaders. In 2020, Parade organizer Terri Denslow and her husband Scott, along with a few others, put their heads together to see if there was a way to honor the LGBTQIA+ community in Clayton. They flew Pride flags in “The Grove,” the city’s main park in the quaint downtown area, and the library.
“Only two cities in Contra Costa County didn’t recognize Pride month somehow,” Denslow says. “Clayton and Danville. So, we wanted to do something about it.”
A couple of the flags were stolen, but Denslow and her group—supported by the Rainbow Community Center—replaced them.
“It was sad, but honestly, I was expecting some more pushback,” says Denslow, who put together a team that included city and business leaders to launch a parade.
It was a surprising success, with businesses from dance academies to the local newspaper participating.
Hundreds of people from throughout the East Bay turned out to support the parade, which wound through the city’s two main streets and ended at an information fair in The Grove. Councilmembers from both Concord and Clayton and other dignitaries rode in spruced up cars. Even Dykes on Bikes showed up to ride.
Some protesters showed up too, but Denslow was happily surprised when the supporters drowned out the anti-gay slurs with their own cheers of support.
The 2023 parade was even larger, with about 50 participants and thousands of spectators. Queera Nightly rode proudly in one of the cars with another drag queen, a symbol of acceptance she so keenly wanted a decade ago.
This year, she’ll be part of the opening ceremony, as the parade and celebration grow even bigger. The highlight will be an address by Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord), who lives on the Clayton/Concord border when he’s not busy in Washington D.C. A last-minute Congressional vote kept him out of the parade last year, but he will attend this year, Denslow says.
Other local dignitaries will also speak, including Clayton councilmember Holly Tillman.
Despite his support, Mayor Diaz will not participate, but he did send in a donation, as did council members Jeff Wan and Kim Trupiano, who are not involved in the parade, Denslow says.
The parade will feature more than 60 marchers and dignitaries, including Contra Costa County Supervisor Ken Carlson, a group from Rossmoor, churches and even the Girl Scouts. The celebration in The Grove will feature information booths, face painting, arts and crafts booths, local vendors and food.
“Some of these kids who are marching may grow up or already identify with the LGPTQIA+ community,” Denslow says. “This type of experience will help them on their path.”
Besides Tillman, Clayton councilmember Peter Cloven will participate. Concord dignitaries Birsan and fellow councilmembers Carlyn Obringer and Laura Nakamura will march.
“This has become a wonderful regional event,” Nakamura says. “It’s a chance for people to demonstrate their individuality and acceptance.”
And that is something Sabine Martin, or Queera Nightly as she will be at the parade, has always wanted.
The Clayton Pride Parade begins at 10 a.m. June 2 on Main Street (near Oak Street) in downtown Clayton. Visit claytonpride.com.