“Although Newark celebrates Pride Month during June with special events, we also choose to separate from the pack and hold our own distinct week-long event and flag-raising each year in July. We do this to demonstrate our authentic embrace of the LGBTIA+ community and elevate our celebration from a routine expectation to one that combines true reverence, elation, and unbridled liberation.

As we conclude the first week of Pride Month, I want to express the respect and gratitude I have for my LGBTIA+ colleagues in City Hall who work to make life in Newark better every day. I also want to uphold the dignity of all LGBTIA+ people in Newark and everywhere, who by their veracity, character, and innate gifts enrich the whole world. Each of us is accountable to live our own truth and to love whom we love.

I call on all Newarkers to work hard to defeat the ignorance that causes homophobia and to serve as a world model for the kind of inclusivity, tolerance, and compassion that makes us Newark and Proud of It!”

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