Noelle Rider (left) and Rachel Rider (right) from Vote for Your Pride.

The Hattiesburg community recently celebrated 10 years of LGBTQ+ pride and emphasized the importance of voting at the annual Pride in the Park event hosted by the Spectrum Center. This was a great achievement for members of the community; Ten years is the longest an LGBTQ+ event has lasted or taken place in the state of Mississippi.
The event took place in Town Square Park and included dozens of vendors, performances by local artists and drag queens, and a march through downtown Hattiesburg. Several organizations were also given the opportunity to speak, including MS Votes, Pine Belt 4 Palestine, Invisible History, Planned Parenthood and MS In Action. Mickie Stratos, a TSC volunteer and one of the event coordinators, commented on this year’s event.
“Ten years is a long time in Mississippi, especially for Pride organizations,” Stratos said. “It’s always so fulfilling to be in a group of queer people… and just be able to be ourselves.”
Since this year is an election year, the event also featured vendors and sponsors who wanted to highlight the importance of the election. Vote For Your Pride is a branch of the national organization MS Votes, which hosted a table at the event. MS Votes was founded by a group of people from a younger generation who noticed how low voter turnout was in Mississippi. They founded the organization to educate and help people register to vote, and have since seen a significant increase in voter turnout. According to volunteers at the table, Mississippi is one of the hardest states to register to vote in because laws can prevent people from registering to vote. Noelle and Rachel Rider were two volunteers at the Vote For Your Pride table who spoke about their experiences at the event.
“It’s been going really well for us, we’ve been registering voters … and we’ve been sharing a lot of information with people who are already registered,” Noelle said. “Your voice in Mississippi matters.”
Those who attended the event throughout the day were pleased with the vendors and activities at the event. Attendees had the opportunity to shop from local artists, meet with drag queens and artists, and learn more information at the booths and vendors provided. There were toys, games and crafts for all ages and even a raffle for those who purchased from vendors. Those who participated in the march through downtown had the opportunity to leave their handprint on a banner to support the event and the LGBTQ+ community at large. Jordan Bryson, one of the event participants, shared his thoughts after the day ended.
“I really enjoyed the event,” Bryson said. “I felt like all the booths were very informative and the performances were perfect.”
To learn more about Vote For Your Pride and MS Votes, you can visit their website or find them on social media @msvotes or Mississippi Votes. For more information about the Spectrum Center, visit their website or Instagram @tsc_hburg.