The grey skies over Halifax on Wednesday, July 8 brought with them a few raindrops, but not quite enough to inspire a rainbow — so it’s a good thing Dalhousie had one ready to go.
The occasion was the raising of the Progress Pride Flag as students, faculty, staff, and community members gathered on the Studley Quad to kick off Pride celebrations in Halifax.
“At a time when 2SLGBTQIA+ communities are facing renewed backlash, Pride becomes more than a celebration — it is our reminder that visibility matters, community matters, and that creating spaces where people feel safe, respected, and valued matters deeply,” said Dee Dooley, who works with Dalhousie’s Human Rights and Equity Services office as its education advisor, sexual violence prevention and served as the event’s MC.
Dee Dooley.
Recognizing history and impact
Though Pride is celebrated around the world at various points in the spring and summer (often in June), Pride events in Halifax are typically held in July. That’s when the city’s first Pride March took place in 1988 — a protest against the threat of homophobic violence as well as the lack of legal protection from discrimination. (Dalhousie’s Ag Campus community celebrated Pride in concert with the community of Truro late last month.)
Shakira Weatherdon, for whom this event was her first since becoming Dalhousie’s assistant vice-president of equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility (EDIA) and belonging earlier this spring, spoke to that larger political and activist context of Pride.
“Pride is a celebration of identity, authenticity, community, joy, and belonging,” she said. “It is also, I think, an opportunity for us to recognize the generations of people whose courage, resiliency, and advocacy made it possible for many of us to live more openly, more authentically today.
Shakira Weatherdon.
“Pride invites us not only to celebrate how far we've come, but to celebrate the incredible people and communities who continue to shape a more inclusive future.”
The power of community
Other speakers at the event added their own colouring to the idea of community. John R. Sylliboy, Dalhousie’s vice-provost of Indigenous relations, recently defended his PhD thesis exploring Indigenous ideas of sexual identity. He talked about the value of widening perspectives on gender and sexuality.
“It’s really about kinship and relationships that we have with ourselves, our body, about having relationships with your family and your community and making sure that we build that sense of kinship within the frameworks that exist around sexuality and gender and Pride,” he said.
John R. Sylliboy
Anna Yaung, a master’s student in Electrical Engineering, has found that sense of kinship with EngiQueers, a national non-profit that focuses on supporting engineering students within the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. She serves as co-president of its Dalhousie chapter, and says she loves being part of helping create safe spaces on campus for people like her to be themselves and find other members of the queer community.
“For me as an engineering student, finding EngiQueers has genuinely been one of the most impactful parts of my six years here in Halifax, and right now it means absolutely everything to me. I have found some of my closest friends through EngiQueers, and I have had the incredible opportunity to learn so much about different identities within my community and also about myself.”
Anna Yang.
As the Progress Pride Flag was raised and everyone posed for photos, the event wrapped up with a barbeque that allowed folks to reflect and celebrate.
“Raising the flag is an important tradition because it says something simple but powerful: it says that you belong here,” said Weatherdon. “You are valued here at Dalhousie and beyond.”
Halifax Pride Parade — join or watch!
Students, alumni, faculty, and staff are invited to join the Dalhousie University group marching in the Halifax Pride Parade this Saturday, July 18 beginning at 12 p.m. If you’d like to take part, please arrive by 11:30 a.m. to the marshalling area along Cogswell Street on the Halifax Commons (spot number C39). More info.
There will also be a viewing area for Dalhousie students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends on the front lawn of the Medjuck Architecture Building at 5410 Spring Garden Road. Activities, decorations, shade and water will all be available!