Montgomery County kicks off Pride Month with flag raising, poetry in Norristown
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Pa. (CBS) — Pride Month has kicked off in Montgomery County with a pride flag-raising ceremony at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown. Many in the community said the flag represents acceptance, belonging and much-needed change.
With his poem "Don't Call it a Riot," Chad Frame, director of the Montgomery County Poet Laureate Program, paid tribute to the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in New York City. It was a turning point in LGBTQ rights.
"And human and human held at the end of a nightstick in contempt," he read.
For Frame, the flag raising hit home.
"Growing up as a gay man in small-town Pennsylvania – I'm from Lansdale – I never thought we'd get to the point where we would have an event like this," Frame said. "So, I think that it's wonderful."
Brian Reese-Turner, president of the NAACP Main Line Chapter said the flag symbolizes real change.
"Now, you understand what it means, and it's a free expression of who you are and that there's literally a whole county behind you and supporting you, and there's people in government who are ensuring that your freedoms and rights are protected," Reese-Turner said.
The flag raising was also a proud moment for Frank Laguda, co-owner of Tony Laguda Formal Wear, in Ambler. Laguda is an ally for the LGBTQ community and is passionate about making sure everyone, including same-sex couples, leaves his shop feeling excited for their special day.
"Our store has been here 50 years," he said. "My father taught me something years ago. He said, 'Treat everyone the same way.'"
Laguda said his late father would be proud of what happened in Norristown Monday.
"He'd be very happy the flag got raised," he said. "And one of the things that he would say is, and I'll say this in Italian, 'Tutti noi siamo uguale.' We are all together."