Omaha’s Heartland Pride event begins Friday. With recent scrutiny of DEI programs, as well as companies distancing themselves from Pride Month, Nebraska Public Media’s Arthur Jones spoke to Heartland Pride’s Vice President Samual Parnell about what this year will look like.
Jones: How did you get involved with Heartland Pride?
Parnell: I really got involved because I wanted to create safe spaces for the queer population. This is my home. This is where I live. I shop here, I go to work here, all those things. And so I just wanted to create space in Omaha to just really ensure that Omaha is a queer friendly place.
Jones: Heartland Pride is, is this weekend. How are things coming together?
Parnell: One thing I’ve learned about it, about doing pride for the last few years, is really, the community is pride, essentially. So it’s a lot of work to organize the parade, organize the festival, but I’ve learned that even though we’re stressed, especially today and then tomorrow morning, as the festivities are going on, one way or another, the community will come together, and it’ll happen.
This year has been particularly stressful just with some board changes. We are an all volunteer board, and life happens. You know, people move away, or, go back to school, or whatever else. This year, we are down our logistics person for the festival, so I’ve taken on that role as well as we have a new parade person this year. So just kind of a lot of training and a lot of changes.
Jones: You mentioned stress, I know one thing I heard was that some sponsors haven’t returned. How is this going to affect how the celebrations are going to happen?
Parnell: Thankfully, fiscally, we’re in a really good position to where we were able to kind of take some loss in sponsorship dollars this year. You know, back in April, May timeframe, we were really concerned, and even before that, all the way back to November, we were concerned about what this year would look like, what the public image of companies that donate would look like, things like that…organizations that care about their people have really stepped up this year in a big way. We met our budget this year, as far as income goes to put on the festival. We did kind of have to get strategic in how we’re spending our money this year…Yes it’s looking a little different this year, but I’m really happy that the Omaha community has come together and really supported us this year.
Jones: Will celebrations look different due to national rhetoric around DEI and LGBTQ stuff? Are there any concerns?
Parnell: I do feel a difference this year. It’s less of a celebration and more of a statement this year. Now, don’t get me wrong, we’re still going to celebrate, we’re still going to have a lot of fun, but this year, it’s really become like a statement that we’re here and we’re not going anywhere. Especially for the trans people that are in the community. Trans people have always been in our community, and they’re not going anywhere. So anybody that falls in that queer category really has to kind of support our trans siblings this year.
Jones: Are there security concerns? I know you brought up rhetoric against trans individuals, is there a security force at Heartland Pride, or what is sort of the situation there?
Parnell: We’ve got a good relationship with the police department. We understand that police are necessary at pride in order to keep us safe, but we also understand the history of pride, so we try to balance the need for them to be there while also giving us space for everybody to feel comfortable, to kind of accomplish that. We’ve really been selective on security companies we work with. I’m really happy to say that we’ve got a great relationship with Elite Tactical L.L.C. here in Omaha.
And then one of my favorite organizations is parasol patrol. And what they do is, if they encounter any protesters at pride, they will basically stand in front of them with their umbrellas.
I’m a firm believer that everybody has a voice, even voices that I don’t necessarily agree with. But I also think that there’s a time and a place, and you know, Youth Pride is not the place to try to tell kids that they shouldn’t be their authentic selves. So I’m really happy that parasol comes out and protects those kids.
Jones: Why do you feel it’s important to have a separate youth night from the general pride celebrations the next day?
Parnell: When you have a kind of one pride festival for adults and kids, there’s some logistical kind of issues with that. Number one being some of the entertainment is going to look different, right? You know, we wouldn’t want to have kids at a burlesque show or something like that. So obviously, the entertainment aspect of it is one thing, but also it’s really important to me and to obviously everybody else on the board to have a dedicated space for youth under the age of 20. Again, we were all that age once, and we all know what it’s like to feel like maybe you don’t belong in the world at that age. So we really try to make a celebration for kids that way they can come. They know that they do have a space in the world, and that way they just feel celebrated.
Jones: Samuel Parnell, the Vice President of Heartland pride, I really appreciate it. Thanks for talking.
Parnell: Absolutely. Thanks. Arthur,
Jones: Youth Pride is Friday starting at 5 p.m., at the CHI Health Center. The Pride Parade starts Saturday morning and will be followed by the larger Heartland Pride festival later that day. More details can be found at the Heartland Pride website.