Jersey City Pride Festival Unites Community for LGBTQ+ Rights

Jersey City’s streets sparkled with rainbow colors on Saturday. The city celebrated the 25th anniversary of Pride Month, uniting the community in love, solidarity, and a steadfast call to protect queer rights in the face of ongoing opposition.

“Across the country, our rights and our identities are under attack. Protections that generations before us fought to secure are being rolled back. But here in Jersey City, in Hudson County, in New Jersey,  we rise. Because Pride is not just a celebration. It is a declaration,” said Elizabeth Schedl, executive director of the Hudson Pride Center, at the steps of City Hall. 

Pride Month is observed nationwide in June, but Jersey City celebrates in August. This year’s event coincided with the anniversary of Obergefell v. Hodges, the U.S. Supreme Court decision that established marriage equality for same-sex couples. 

The festival also comes as activists respond to what they call an unprecedented anti-LGBTQ+ agenda from the Trump administration, a stark contrast to the spirit of World Pride and queer-friendly marches.

“This past week to add insult to injury, the President of the United States and the justice department issued subpoenas to hospitals throughout our democracy seeking the medical records of Americans who sought gender-affirming care,” said State Sen. Raj Mukherji (D-Jersey City). 

“But while this is going on throughout the country, we are showing them in New Jersey that we will continue to fight for human and civil rights,” he added.

Organizers told New Jersey Urban News this year’s Pride Month carried both a celebratory spirit and an urgent call to action, reflected in its theme, “Speak Up, Stand Firm, & Stay Strong.” The slogan was inspired by a speech voting rights advocate Stacey Abrams delivered earlier this year at the United States Association of Pride conference held in Atlanta, Georgia.

The festival kicked off with the sound of drums and the spirit of pride as members from various LGBTQIA+ organizations marched in the Equality March, from Jersey City Hall to Newark Avenue. The march called on the community to confront the abuse, resist oppression and uphold resilience faced in the community, while also spotlighting one of New Jersey’s largest Pride celebrations.

South Jersey will join the festivities on September 7 with the “Out in the Park” celebration at Cooper River Park in Pennsauken. Rounding out the season, Moorestown will mark National Coming Out Day with its Pride Festival on October 11, closing a year of statewide visibility, unity, and joy.

The festival spotlighted voices advocating for LGBTQIA+ visibility, with groups like the Human Rights Campaign and Garden State Equality hosting tables and sharing resources. 

“It is always great to be able to give them the positive energy of a hug that comes with that where they may not have in their own family and support,” said Katie Kelly, a leader for the New Jersey Chapter for Free Mom Hugs, a nonprofit organization centered around embracing members of the LGBTQIA+ community, rather than alienating them on the basis of religious ideals. 

Other groups in attendance included the Jersey City Free Public Library and the Hudson Pride Center, which is a hub for HIV testing, health and social services programs and community center for youth in the LGBTQIA+ space. A line up of vendors and restaurants also participated including Taco Drive, Garden Greens, the Ashford and Six26.

Live performances went on from 1 p.m. through 9 p.m. welcoming a line of diverse artists and drag performers including Hip-hop and R&B duo Nor Hip-hop and R&B duo Nor Kin4Life bringing their upbeat rhythm to the festival, delivering messages of empowerment. 

As the evening approached, three distinct acts—Antonio Amor, Boxa Crayonz, and Jersey City drag icon Kimmy Sumony—shared a high-voltage time slot filled with wit, color, and personality.

Later in the night, bands that performed also included the Apocalypse Noir, a genre-defying queer band showcasing a drag cabaret style. 

“Pride means to be including everyone, no matter what walk of life you come from and that makes me happy to see community come together in acts like these,” said Michael Rugg, who moved to Jersey City two years ago, from the township of Old Bridge New Jersey. “We are always going to rise above it.”