Hopewell Township officials showed support for the LGBTQ+ community when they raised the Pride flag to kickoff Pride Month.
Officials raised the Pride Flag at the township’s municipal complex on June 2. The flag raising ceremony had taken place before a regular scheduled meeting for the Hopewell Township Committee.
The event serves as a visible demonstration of the township’s ongoing commitment to inclusion and acceptance, township officials said.
“Raising the Pride flag is more than a symbolic gesture — it represents our dedication to building a welcoming and inclusive community for all,” Mayor Courtney Peters-Manning said. “We are proud to celebrate with our residents during Pride Month and every day of the year.”
The Progress Pride flag will remain raised at the township municipal complex until June 30.
During the Township Committee meeting, the township committee read a proclamation recognizing June as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer + (LGBTQ+) Pride Month.
The proclamation recognized the LGBTQ+ community’s contributions to the township and encouraged all residents to celebrate and affirm the proud and diverse LGBTQ+ community year-round.
The first ever Pride marches occurred nationally on June 28 in 1970. They occurred one-year after the 1969 Stonewall riots.
The riots, which Pride Month can trace its roots to, had gone on for several days in 1969 after New York City police officers conducted a raid at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar. The police department did frequent raids on gay bars during the time period.
The raid at the Stonewall Inn resulted in the people there fighting back against the police department. The riots are seen as the event which ignited the LGBTQ rights movement.
Pride Month today is celebrated across the nation and the state with celebrations, parades, and marches. The month commemorates civil rights for the LGBTQ+ community.
