On Saturday, June 15, the third annual Greenbelt Emerald City Pride Parade and Festival will take place for the first time without Councilmember Ric Gordon at the helm. His unexpected death on November 26, 2023, left an indelible mark on Greenbelt. A prolific community organizer, Gordon participated in and often spearheaded many community initiatives. Nothing was more important to him, however, than the Greenbelt Pride Festival, says his widow, Carla Johns.
The first Pride Festival in 2022 followed Gordon’s own coming out to a small group of confidants a couple of years prior, at the age of 39. According to Johns, as a part of the LGBTQIA+ community, it was important to her husband to bring everyone together, and for Greenbelt to be known as a safe space.
For this reason, Johns remains intent on carrying on her husband’s legacy for this year’s festival. Not an organizer herself, Johns partnered with Shaymar Higgs, executive director of The SPACE, to lead this effort. Higgs was part of a small group of like-minded people that helped Gordon execute the 2022 inaugural event. In addition to the festival, a parade was organized the following year, which brought another level of engagement and excitement, according to Johns.
Helping Johns and Higgs organize this year’s celebration is a small committee assisting with planning, marketing and collecting sponsorships and donations. They are honoring Gordon with an ambitious agenda focused on having full representation of the entire spectrum of the LGBTQIA+ community, according to Higgs.
In addition to the parade and festival this year, there will also be free STI testing, drag queen and king performers, drag bingo and more.
According to Kellen Cole, 11, whom Gordon appointed as last year’s Pride Parade Grand Marshall, she is excited for this year’s festival, but misses her friend. “He was fun to be around and made me feel special,” she said.
Cole, who identifies as queer, says that such events are particularly important for young people in the LGBTQIA+ community. “It makes them feel recognized and accepted when being young and in school, especially if that experience isn’t very happy because you’re teased about being gay or lesbian or queer. So, if you can participate in these types of [Pride] events, it makes you feel included and like they’re celebrating you,” said Cole.
Funding remains a particular challenge this year, since Gordon financed the first two Pride events mostly on his own, without city funding. Johns reported that the initiative was important enough to her husband that he was willing to take on that burden. When planning for the inaugural event in 2022, he briefly engaged with city leaders but quickly found it would be faster to work outside the local bureaucracy, said Johns. The approach also allowed him to bypass those who Higgs believes have been overly cautious in the past about supporting what some may see as a divisive issue.
Instead, to pull off the first two Pride events, Gordon and his committee maneuvered behind the scenes, leveraging Gordon’s contacts and the personal relationships he had built with state and local officials, to include the Greenbelt Police Department and other community organizers to ensure the events were promoted, celebrated and safe.
“Ric doesn’t wait for people, he just does,” says Johns.
She’s certain her husband would be proud of this year’s events, but wants to see more recognition for his efforts, as well as more buy-in from the city. This includes a banner that celebrates Pride in June and the inclusion of all people, just like there is for the Labor Day Festival, the Farmers Market and other local activities.
For his part, Higgs wants “someone in Greenbelt who notices and acknowledges the vision and helps see it through from the city’s standpoint.”
According to Mayor Emmett Jordan, “Ric was definitely ahead of everyone.” He also reports that the city is fully supportive of the LGBTQIA+ community. The city sponsored this year’s raising of the Pride flag on May 31 (see Pride flag story at this link) and signing of the Pride proclamation. Regarding financial support, Jordan advised that there are avenues for community groups to gain access to public funding by applying for and gaining status as a Recognition or Contribution Group.
According to the city’s Policy and Information Guide for Recognition Groups, approved groups gain access to some city facilities, limited publicity, as well as the ability to apply for project or operating grants. Such grants can then be applied to festivals, tournaments and other community service initiatives. Jordan was unaware, however, if Gordon or this year’s Pride committee applied for financial support through the city.
When asked about including Pride initiatives in the city’s annual budget development process, he said that there are human resource limitations, but it’s mostly that nobody has asked. Still, he’s comfortable with the level of support the city has provided, mostly through the Public Works and Police Departments, and is open to more. “The Greenbelt way is to come together and do things,” Jordan says.
In the long term, especially going into an election year, Johns wants to ensure that all members of the city council openly espouse inclusivity and are supportive of all community members, including the LGBTQIA+ community.
“We deserve to know who we’re voting for,” she says.
Ultimately though, Johns looks forward to this event and honoring her husband’s memory.
“Ric was always more about the people and less about the politics. It was important to him that everyone be seen, heard and recognized. That is his legacy.”
The Pride Festival will take place on June 15 from noon to 3 p.m. in Roosevelt Center. Those interested in sponsoring or donating to this year’s event, can email thespace@freeartforall.org.