Even with the threat of mighty winds whipping some of the world’s largest pride flags into the Hudson River, the Hudson Valley’s queer community marches on. During Big Gay Hudson Valley’s second annual pride kickoff, Pride in the Sky on May 18, locals paraded two giant flags to the middle of the Walkway Over the Hudson starting from either end. They held hundreds of feet of pride taut against fierce gusts as children darted under the billowing fabric. When the gay and trans flag met in the middle, people celebrated the magnificent rainbow under a looming dark sky. With the queer joy and uncharacteristic foreboding clouds overhead, it was a fitting metaphor for the current political moment.
President Trump’s continuing repeals of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) positions and initiatives within the federal government have cast a dark shadow over minorities nationwide. Under the guise of instilling a merit-based hiring system, Trump has chipped away at LGBTQ+ protections, especially with regard to gender. A slash here says that all DEI offices, positions, and programs in the federal government are null and void. A slash there says goodbye to Equal Employment Opportunity, a decades-old executive order requiring anti-discrimination practices and compliance with civil-rights laws. Another letter threatens federal defunding of K-12 schools if they don’t lose their DEI programs. An email from the White House Office of Personnel Management demands that references to gender ideology be removed, including pronouns in email signatures. In fact, gender is no longer an acceptable term; the US government only recognizes sex assigned at birth.
The Hudson Valley, though staunch in its queer support, hasn’t gone untouched by DEI pushback. The Hudson Valley LGBTQ+ Center has been told to change language on grant applications to exclude DEI wording. Haldane Central School District in Cold Spring voted to suspend their DEI policy in fear of losing federal funding, only to go back on the decision after federal judges in other states managed to block cuts to funding for their public schools. Poughkeepsie Pride has lost corporate sponsorships from previous years due to changes in “funding priorities.” The safety net of a progressive New York State is not sturdy enough to balance on, and queer people are leaning on each other.
School’s Out
When Rob Conlon, co-chair of the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) Mid-Hudson Chapter, got his start at the organization 25 years ago, he was still getting told that schools didn’t have gay or lesbian students. Today, it’s hard for the chapter to keep up with the numerous educator and student requests for LGBTQ+ informed courses and training. With more and more calls to censor books with queer messages from schools nationwide, GLSEN frequently provides schools with LGBTQ+ books and resources. At local parent meetups, the group facilitates conversations about how to advocate for students within the community. Ultimately, the goal is self-sufficient, supportive districts. “There’s still a sense in some of the school districts that they need an outside expert to come,” Conlon says. “There are already LGBTQ+ people on staff that could be the in-house experts.”
Kathy Sellitti, the Kingston City School District’s director of DEI, is the perfect example. Though she doesn’t directly interact with students in her behind-the-scenes work emphasizing inclusive language and bringing staff awareness to New York State’s queer legal protections, her very presence serves as queer visibility. “I would consider myself queer presenting, and kids find me,” Sellitti says. “I think that’s an effort to look for, support, or to just see representation in terms of ‘Wow, I can make it to just be an adult someday,’ which sometimes doesn’t feel possible when you are a persecuted person.”
Artistic Allyship
“What young people show me and other members of our community is that we can actually continue to expand the tent and not be threatened,” says photographer Kate Warren. “Not to feel like someone else’s freedom is coming at my expense, but that someone else’s freedom actually makes me more free.”
Warren runs queer artist residency Golden Kin Studio on this idea of collective freedom. In a serene farmhouse between Hudson and Red Hook, they prioritize a social-justice-informed space to queer and BIPOC artists for as long as they need it. Their homemade vegan stews and cups of tea don’t hurt either. As getting funding and grants to make art as a queer person grows increasingly difficult, Warren gives space for artists to work and connect, or if they choose, just rest and enjoy a warm family dinner.
Art is at the core of queer visibility. Drag, music, dance, and visual art all serve as avenues for queer expression and resistance. Queerly, Inc., the nonprofit behind Woodstock Pride, understands this, with a rich variety of art programming offered throughout Pride month. As rainbow fitted drag queens come striding down Tinker Street for the second year in a row, Woodstock Pride will be honoring Mr. and Mr. Woodstock, Chris Wells and Bobby Lucy, founders of the vibrant art collective The Secret City. Trees will be sweatered in colorful crochet, and local musicians will bound proudly past the Village Green onto the Colony stage.
“Art can be a healing process for many, a form of resistance for those experiencing discrimination and injustice, sometimes even helping challenge the social norms of society,” says Gerald Lanza, the head of the Woodstock Pride Art Committee. “Art in all its forms can act as a catalyst for love and building a more inclusive society as a whole.”
No Parade Required
“There’s that much happening here now where you can literally do something gay every night of the week,” says Stephan Hengst, the co-founder of Big Gay Hudson Valley. Since 2008, Hengst and his husband, Patrick Decker, have been a guide for queer folks in the area. What started as a Facebook group sharing LGBTQ+ centered events with a few friends has grown to become a powerhouse of queer resources for hundreds of thousands. Whether for community support or somewhere to have fun on a Friday night, their events and local guides to queer-friendly businesses are there for people of all identities and generations. With DEI pushbacks undermining diverse and inclusive businesses, local business owners can use the support more than ever.
“We have to put our money where our mouth is, and if we want to see the diverse community that has the same values that we all do, we have to support the businesses that are investing and bringing that talent and creating those experiences in our communities. Because if we don’t do it, they’ll stop,” Hengst says.
Half the battle is showing up, and sometimes showing up isn’t picket signs or the front lines of protests. It’s a drink with queer friends at Unicorn Bar in Kingston. It’s a crowd of children at Drag Story Hour in Poughkeepsie. It’s a meetup at a local pride center. It’s knowing you’re not alone.
“The assumption that we’re progressive, that everybody gets it and representation is not needed is so wrong,” says Jennifer Brown, secretary of Queerly, Inc., who also happens to be a globally recognized DEI thought leader with her own inclusivity consulting business. “Kids need to see it. We need to see businesses with rainbow decals in their windows. We need to see the efforts that people go to to show up. We can’t take it for granted.”
Queer joy is not just happiness. It’s a tool for defiance against oppressive forces. It’s a reclamation of authentic expression in the face of darkness. “We have to be joyful, we have to celebrate. We have to be in spaces where we demonstrate our love, where we demonstrate our happiness, where we demonstrate how successful we can be just through being,” Conlon says. “That joyful visibility is not only resistance, but it is the foundation of our growth.”
This article appears in June 2025.
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