Stonewall Columbus 2023 Columbus Pride Theme

Stonewall Columbus Media Contact:
Kathy Crowe – Sr. Coordinator
Communications & Creative Services
Email: XPebjr@FgbarjnyyPbyhzohf.bet

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

STONEWALL COLUMBUS PRIDE 2023
“Purpose. Passion. Power.”

COLUMBUS, OH, February 27, 2023 – The Stonewall Columbus organization announced its 42^nd annual Stonewall Columbus Pride theme for the month of June 2023: “Purpose. Passion. Power.”

“Fifty-four years post the Stonewall Uprisings we have much to celebrate but far more left in our fight. In the month of June as our communities gather around the country to celebrate and recognize LGBTQ+ Pride across our intersectional identities we must ensure we do this in remembrance of our purpose, celebration of our passion, and as a demonstration of our power because we know as we fight to make and maintain spaces for queer identities to be seen and thrive, at the core this fight is about our Pride,” noted Densil Porteous Stonewall’s, Executive Director.

Less than two months into 2023, the Human Rights Campaign has been tracking close to 340 anti-LGBTQ+ bills that have been introduced in statehouses across the country. 150 of those would specifically restrict the rights of transgender people, the highest number of bills targeting transgender people in a single year to date. In the state of Ohio there is no statewide law that protects LGBTQ+ people from discrimination. This means that a person can still be fired, denied housing, or refused service simply because of whom they love or how they identify.

Zac Boyer director of programs and marketing at Stonewall Columbus, and the designer of the 2023 logo, said “For the 2023 Stonewall Columbus Pride logo, reflecting the theme of “Purpose. Passion. Power.”, I wanted to create something new that harkens to imagery that isn’t so new. Queer imagery, and design, has a rich history that often reflects the tenacity, adaptability, and strength of our community. Whether a symbol was used to discreetly identify each other, reclaim an emblem of shame, or to revel in our collective power, images have been utilized throughout the years to give a visual narrative to our story.” Read more about the 2023 Pride logo elements here.

“As we prepare to celebrate and recognize Pride we can’t do so without considering the future of our fight and we must center our fight on a desire to show up and show up for each other,” said Porteous. “We must work to find ways to uplift the various identities in our intersectional community; we must find ways that enable us to demonstrate our community’s capacity to make things happen; in these most challenging of times we must stand in our Power.”

Columbus’ first Pride march in 1981 saw 200 people marching from the Ohio State University to the Statehouse in commemoration of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising. In 2023 Columbus will recognize 42 years of leading the Ohio community in the celebration and recognition of the LGBTQ+ community across Central Ohio.

Stonewall Columbus invites the community to join this June 16 and 17 for Festival and March activities in Goodale Park. For Pride month events, partnership, and volunteer information visit stonewallcolumbus.org/pride.

Stonewall’s annual PRIDE Festival and March serve as the organization’s largest annual fundraiser that secures the needed funds to support Stonewall’s community programs and annual operations.

Purpose. – The 1969 Stonewall Uprisings represent the foundations of LGBTQ+ Pride, the purpose of our protests…protests against police brutality…protests against the injustices enacted on a people: the LGBTQ+ community. The Christopher Street Liberation march occurred June 28, 1970 in New York City and the Christopher Street West Parade in Los Angeles reminded us that several days in June of 1969 did not end our fight but determined our purpose.

Passion. – We must remember that our recognition of Pride was not always seen as celebratory; for a long time, our celebration of our Pride, our protest song, was seen as a radical assault on cis-heteronormative values and did not include marginalized intersectional identities. But as we have come to know better we strive to do better…to find more ways to be inclusive. The evolution of our fight means that we must work to include the most of us as we push for equity, equality, and liberation for the intersectional identities among us–our people are our passion.

Power. – The LGBTQ+ community spans race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, ancestry, national origin, and different abilities. Over a period of fifty-four years our community has banded together to fight against some of the most challenging situations of many of our lifetimes. We have survived sodomy laws; battled the HIV/AIDS epidemic; challenged antiquated notions of marriage; fought for protections under Title VII; held corporations accountable to invest in our causes not singularly during Pride month–and in the face of bigotry we persist. Our persistence is our power.

The flier that announced the first Pride march in New York, the Christopher Street Liberation Day March in 1970, said in part: “What it will all come to no one can tell. It is our hope that the day will come when homosexuals will be an integral part of society — being treated as human beings.” The flier added that such a change “can only be the result of a long hard struggle against bigotry, prejudice, persecution, exploitation — even genocide.” It further read, “Gay Liberation is for the homosexual who stands up, and fights back.” (

PREVIOUS PRIDE LOGOS 2001 to 2022

The 2022 logo took it’s inspiration from artist Lisa McLymont’s “Pride Circles” installation outside the Stonewall Columbus Community Center at the corner of 4^th and High in the Short North area of Columbus, Ohio.

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Stonewall Columbus, an independent 501(c)(3)nonprofit, is one of the oldest LGBTQ+ community organizations in the country–founded in 1981. Today Stonewall Columbus’ mission is to “increase visibility, inclusion, and connection for the LGBTQ+ community”. Stonewall represents more than 10,000 LGBTQ+ and allied community members in the Central Ohio region. Stonewall provides an array of evolving programs and resources to the LGBTQ+ and allied communities supported by community donations, corporate partnerships, and grants. Annual Stonewall Columbus PRIDE events and march are produced by Stonewall Columbus. Stonewall’s physical home is the Stonewall Columbus Community Center on High–a community center for all. Stonewall envisions a community where we all THRIVE.

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Mission: increase visibility, inclusion, and connection for the LGBTQ+ community.

Values: History. Visibility. Inclusion. Connection. Accountability.

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