Pride and Progress

This weekend is Pride in Hampshire County! Yes, a whole month before the rest of the country! But Northampton Pride gets its start under much smaller and more dangerous circumstances. Dr. Jane Fleischman was there at the first few marches, back when it was the Gay and Lesbian Liberation March. Although she primarily digs into sexuality of folx later in life with her practice Speaking Of, LLC and her podcast Our Better Half, we speak with her about those beginnings and its initial progress. Once we examine the origins, we turn to its future as Hampshire Pride emerges phoenix-like from the ashes of its Northampton predecessor. Organizers Clay Pearson, Kayla Abney and Celina Almendarez join us to talk about the importance of preserving not just the Pride March itself, but queer spaces in general. They are just fantastically decked out in our studio and we have the pics to prove it.