Pride Protest in Woonsocket After Baldelli-Hunt Schedules Conflicting Event

Monday, June 28, 2021

GoLocalProv News Team

 

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A Progress Pride flag - which event organizers say the city initially rejected this year. Photo: CC/DanielQuasar

Organizers of a Pride celebration in Woonsocket are now planning a protest instead on Monday night, after they said Woonsocket Mayor Lisa Baldelli Hunt deliberately scheduled a conflicting event at the location. 

Pride organizers said they tried to organize an event earlier in month for June 28 at River Island Park -- but were told by the city they could not use that location due to construction, and despite paying an application fee, never made the city council docket. 

Instead, organizers said they planned an event in Market Square, after which Baldelli-Hunt scheduled a last-minute car show to take place at that location. 

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On Monday, the Black Lives Matter RI PAC issued a statement in support of the Pride protest now scheduled for Monday night. 

"The Woonsocket City Council voted 7-0 on a resolution that would recognize the month of June as Woonsocket Pride Month–including a Pride Flag Raising Ceremony to be held annually. Instead of this happening, the community of Woonsocket called and emailed Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt and each City Council member asking them to hold a 2021 Pride Flag Raising Ceremony as promised," said BLM RI PAC. "City officials responded by raising an upside-down traditional rainbow flag without letting anyone from the community know it was happening. After this disrespectful course of action, the community took matters into their own hands by replacing the upside-down flag with the new Progress Pride flag."

"On Thursday, June 24, Mayor Hunt announced that she would be hosting a car show at River Island Park on Monday at 5:30 PM, after which Woonsocket’s very first Pride event was to be held at the same place by Rebuild Woonsocket just an hour and a half later," BLM RI PAC continued. "Despite the permit application for Woonsocket Pride to be held in River Island Park being submitted correctly and on time, the application was never put on the City Council meeting agenda for unknown reasons. After attempting to move the event to Market Square, a public place in the middle of a parking lot, the Woonsocket Police Department made a phone call to a board member of Rebuild Woonsocket, letting them know that an event hosted by Mayor Hunt would already be taking place in that area."

"Woonsocket Pride is still happening, and a march through in protest of the Mayor’s ignorance has been added. Attendees are to meet at River Island Park at 6:30 PM and March to the World War II Memorial Park for the already planned event," said BLM RI PAC.

“Issues surrounding oppression are issues that not one elected official in Woonsocket has ever had to or will ever have to go through, which is why this entire situation is repugnant, but not surprising," said BLM RI PAC Executive Assistant Jaliyah Joseph. "How can you call yourself a leader yet turn your back on an entire community of people who are fighting to love? Leaders need to begin moving as such. This is beyond embarrassing and shameful.” 

“This is very often the case of institutionalized marginalization of any sort — it’s not the mayor screaming ‘I hate gay people’ from a rooftop. It’s using murky, ill-defined tactics,” said Rebuild RI organizer Alex Kithes on Monday.

Baldelli-Hunt did not respond to request for comment at time of publication. 

"Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt, as a former State Representative, voted against marriage equality in 2013. She voted against LGBTQ+ folks' right to get married. She voted against my right to get married," said Kithes.

"Maybe she can can try and claim she didn't know about our event -- but when has the City of Woonsocket planned an event with three days notice," he added. 

 

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