The rainbow Pride flag has flown over Glen Cove Village Square each June for nearly a decade, but organizers of the annual Pride celebration said this year’s ceremony on Monday carried renewed significance.
Speakers at the ninth annual event highlighted both the progress made by the LGBTQ community and the challenges that remain, pointing to recent hateful social media comments and a national climate that has left many feeling vulnerable.
Former City Councilwoman Marsha Silverman, who has helped lead the event since its inception, said the negative comments posted online after the ceremony was announced served as a reminder that public displays of support remain necessary.
“When this was posted on social media about a week ago,” Silverman said, “the negative, derogatory, really disgusting and despicable comments that were put up on social media reminded me that it’s more important now than it’s been in my lifetime.”
She contrasted those comments with the many supportive responses from community members, saying they demonstrated the values she believes define Glen Cove.
“That is what this is about,” Silverman said. “It is about showing each other that we will be there for you, no matter what. No matter who you are, we as a community in Glen Cove care about each other. Pride began as a protest stemming out of the Stonewall Riots,” she said, referring to the protests in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village in June 1969. “It was a fight against oppression, a demand for equality.”
Pride honors those who fought for acceptance in earlier generations, Siverman said, and she challenged attendees to continue that work. “So today we stand proud not just for ourselves, but for future generations,” she said. “Where acceptance, hopefully, is the norm. Where love knows no boundaries and where everyone can live fully and freely.”
One of the ceremony’s youngest speakers was Natalie Macon, a Glen Cove High School senior and the president of the school’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance. Macon described Pride as the freedom to embrace one’s identity without fear.
“Our community does this flag-raising every year, and it’s so important for this to happen,” she said. “It helps show that Glen Cove, our town, is a safe community, and one to be proud of.”
Macon said support systems are vital for LGBTQ youth. “In a world that is so full of hate, it is important that we have a space to be ourselves,” she said. “A place to explore and discover and not be afraid that we’ll be rejected or turned away from parts of ourselves.”
Macon added that acceptance can make a profound difference in a young person’s life. “To have people that welcome and support us, even without fully understanding, is absolutely crucial to the development of queer youth and queer people in the community,” she said.”
Stevens Martinez, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs on Long Island for Gov. Kathy Hochul, who also grew up in Glen Cove, spoke about coming out as a teenager, before same-sex marriage became legal in the United States. Looking out at the crowd, he praised the progress made by the community and the opportunities available to today’s students.
“I remember being one of only a handful of people who felt like we could come out at the time,” Martinez said. “But I know that there were so many others who didn’t come out because of the prejudice and the fear that people had at the time.”
He commended Macon and the Gender and Sexuality Alliance for creating a supportive environment at the high school. “It’s incredible just how far we have come as a community, especially here in Glen Cove,” Martinez said.
Aiden J. Kaplan, assistant director of operations and programs at PFY, formerly known as Pride for Youth, told the attendees that visibility remains essential, particularly as the LGBTQ community continues to face discrimination and uncertainty.
“When a Pride flag flies over City Hall, it sends a message that cannot be ignored,” Kaplan said. “It says that we see you, you belong here, and your community stands with you.”
PFY serves people of all ages throughout Nassau, Suffolk and Queens, he said, offering mental health services, housing and food assistance, gender-affirming care, case management and social programs. Gatherings like Glen Cove’s annual ceremony, Kaplan added, carry significance beyond symbolism.
“The transgender teen who feels alone, the person questioning whether they should come out, the family looking for hope, the child worried that their family will reject them — that message reaches people we may never meet,” he said.
The event also included a statement from GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis, read by Glen Cove High GSA adviser Rebecca Goldaper. The message praised the city’s commitment to inclusion while warning of ongoing legislative and cultural challenges facing LGBTQ communities nationwide.
“Raising a Pride flag is a simple act, but it carries profound weight,” Ellis wrote.
