OUTwest Lubbock is tired of being ghosted by City Hall, so they’ve launched a letter-writing campaign to get the council to do something as wild and controversial as… officially recognizing June as Pride Month. The group says such a proclamation would honor the cultural and economic contributions of LGBTQ+ residents and signal that Lubbock is—brace yourself—“a city that welcomes all.”
This year marks the 13th Annual Lubbock Pride Festival, set for June 28 at the Louise H. Underwood Center for the Arts. Organizers invited council members to show up and read the proclamation, or at least send someone with a pulse to do it for them. Whether anyone from the city actually shows up is, well, anyone’s guess.
The press release puts it simply: LGBTQ+ folks are still dealing with disproportionate levels of discrimination in Lubbock, and a symbolic proclamation would be a baby step toward acknowledging they exist. But given the city’s history of “respectful silence,” don’t expect a rainbow flag flying over City Hall anytime soon.
Thirteen years of Pride festivals in Lubbock and still no proclamation. At this point, it’s starting to feel less like oversight and more like tradition.
