CAPE MAY — Equality Cape May is getting set to celebrate LGBTQIA+ Pride Month with two special events.
The group, one of the hundreds of LGBTQIA+ community organizations that host events throughout the year to celebrate gay pride, will mark the beginning of the month with its PRIDE Kickoff Party annual fundraiser June 1 at the Inn of Cape May.
Its biggest event, the annual Pride March, is scheduled for June 18. This year’s theme is “Unconditional Love, Collective Power.”
Participants will gather at the Cove beach, where the march is set to begin at 5 p.m. An afterparty is set to start at 6:30 p.m. at the Inn of Cape May.
President Bill Clinton declared June Gay and Lesbian Pride Month in 1999. Since that impactful proclamation, the month has been expanded to encompass the entire LGBTQIA+ community and was officially proclaimed by President Barack Obama in 2011.
During June, national pride marches and rallies are hosted across the country to celebrate love and acceptance, but also to memorialize and honor the people who fought to bring queer rights to the forefront.
Equality Cape May came together in 2010 when founder Ann McCabe and others began holding social events at local coffee shops to bring the community together.
Before organizing her own events, the former Philadelphia resident was part of GABLES — a nonprofit LGBT community that had a chapter in Cape May County.
“We’d always enjoyed GABLES, the LGBT community that really spearheaded LGBT movements in Cape May County,” McCabe said.
The group really expanded in 2021 when Cape May County Indivisible asked them to help organize a Pride March in June. Group members had been organizing unofficial meetings and projects but had yet to plan a comprehensive event.
“It was always my vision to do something like that. After it was such a success, people were reaching out and were like, ‘We should just keep moving with the success,’” she said.
The march in 2021 was the springboard that jump-started Equality Cape May, McCabe said. She always knew there was an LGBTQIA+ community, but the Pride March brought out a sense of enthusiasm McCabe hadn’t seen before.
“There was enthusiasm, and it exceeded our expectations,” McCabe said. “We marched from Congress Hall and finished at the beach where the energy was palpable.”
She had already been hosting events she called Socials, where people got together to talk and mingle. The march generated an extended type of crowd that differed from those attending the Socials.
“The great part about it is that unlike the Socials, people come out with children and families — whether they are allies or queer families. There’s a different kind of diverse energy. It’s a statement of pride atmosphere.”
As founder of a queer organization, McCabe must consider the people with whom they work and the audience they want to target.
Pride marches have become a space for LGBTQIA+ community members and allies to celebrate the complex history that got the community to where it is today. McCabe said the events provide a place for people to feel safe and welcome.
“I’m aware that it’s important for the queer community to feel like they have a safe place,” McCabe said. “We want it to be a celebration of our community, but it also has to be a very strong statement. We’re very proud of ourselves. We take equality, inclusion and diversity really seriously.”
This year has seen mixed opinions on LGBTQIA+ rights from a government standpoint. Cape May has a long history of LGBTQIA+ organizations, and Equality Cape May is one of many that advocate for strong communities.
“I feel like now more than ever, coming together as a community and knowing there’s a community there for you is important,” she said. “The activism right now is to have community, and there’s a lot of political activism that we always try to show up to that.”
Equality Cape May is completely volunteer-based. Consisting of volunteers means the organization functions from different levels of perspectives and experiences.
“I think being a founder and taking a leadership role is a tricky role to have because you want to be aware that, yes, you birthed this, but you share this baby with everybody,” McCabe said. “People who volunteer their time come into any organization with the whole world of experience. There’s so much talent that it’s important to make room for that and corral it.”
Different committees work toward the organization’s different goals and priorities. McCabe is one of the chairs on the Advocacy Committee, and her job is to reach out to the different municipalities to request an official proclamation for June as Pride Month.
From this position, she’s learned not to take the safe route when approaching new people.
“When you live in a community that’s politically split, the organization’s role is to reach out to everyone,” McCabe said. “To engage, knowing that there could be rejection, but not just assuming that leadership and communities might have a different approach. Sometimes we’re super surprised and excited.”
McCabe was thrilled to announce that they will be offering their JCATION Scholarship to two local LGBTQIA+ high school students for the second year. The scholarship is available to students from Cape May County Tech, Lower Cape May Regional, Middle Township, Ocean City or Wildwood high schools.
The scholarship is offered to any LGBTQIA+ identifying student currently accepted into a certified two- or four-year college or trades program. More information can be found by contacting Equality Cape May.
By JULIA DiGERONIMO/For the Star and Wave
