Hingham Pride Project Promotes Inclusivity

January 26, 2020 by Carol Britton Meyer

The Hingham Pride Project is picking up momentum following the launch of its website -- hinghamprideproject.org -- on Thursday.

"We were really amazed, happy, and empowered by the reaction when our website went live and our [March 28] fundraising event was posted," Alyssa DeCourcey -- who spearheaded the project and is part of the volunteer Hingham Pride Project board -- told the Hingham Anchor.

The non-profit Hingham Pride Project works to increase LGBTQ+ visibility in Hingham, to raise funds for organizations that provide community programs and activities for LGBTQ+  youth, and to promote inclusivity among residents of all ages through community activities and education.

Through fundraising and donations, the first goal is that everyone in town who would like to show their support for their LGBTQ+ neighbors by displaying a Philadelphia Pride flag (see more details below) during Pride Month in June is able to do so, at no cost to them.

"I think the Hingham community is welcoming, but it will be nice for people to see that," DeCourcey said. "This is an opportunity to show support for those people in our community who might be concerned about coming out."

While acceptance has come a long way, "there's still a lot to do before we reach the point where you're welcomed just because you are a person [regardless of your sexual orientation] and accepted as that," she said.

Statistics show that in this current year, 50 percent of the overall LGBTQ+ community doesn't come out to their co-workers. "I wonder how many people working in Hingham are in that position who might see the Pride flags and feel more comfortable about doing that," she said. "You can't live your life to the fullest unless you can be yourself in public, whether holding hands with your partner or being a family with your children."

The board will be meeting with the Hingham High GSA (Gender, Sexuality, and Allies, formerly the Gay-Straight Alliance) Feb. 6 to talk about how its members can get involved with the project and how they can best be supported.

'Sea of rainbow support'

The dream of Hingham Pride Project volunteers and supporters is "to show a sea of rainbow support" over the month of June in celebration of Hingham's LGBTQ+ community during Pride Month.

The Hingham Pride logo -- created by Hingham High graduate Lauren Kourafas, now a Northeastern student  -- depicts the letter "H" filled in with diagonal colors of black, brown, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. The background is red -- the Hingham Public Schools color. The black and brown colors were added to represent inclusion of people of color in the LGBTQ+, patterned after the Philadelphia Office of LGBT Affairs' More Color More Pride campaign in 2017, when brown and black were added to the standard rainbow flag colors.

There is no charge for the Philadelphia flags because the cost will be covered by donations and fundraising efforts, and the flags will be installed by volunteers starting the last weekend of May and removed by the first week of July to make it simpler to participate and to save the flags for reuse next year. The flags bearing the Hingham Pride logo will be for sale.

DeCourcey would like there to be more of a focus on the transgender segment of Hingham's residents in the future and to expand the effort to other towns who would like to participate.

Acceptance, inclusion, and love

"We know that LGBTQ+ people and their allies exist in all corners of town.  Our mission is to help them show their pride and show the world that Hingham is a place of acceptance, inclusion and love,"  according to Hingham Pride Project organizers. "Here is [our] toast to a new year starting off with younger generations who are inclusive and full of LOVE. That is what it is all about and that is what I hope we can bring to our community this year."

DeCourcey first became involved in this movement in the 1990s when a close friend of the family who was gay died by suicide. Then a family member came out a few years ago when he was in his 30s.

She was curious why in Massachusetts in this day and age it took him so long to be his true self. "He didn't feel physically safe coming out before then [except with his family]. I had no idea," she said.

As a former Hingham student she was aware of some issues in the schools over the years regarding sexual orientation. Other board members had their own reasons for joining the effort.

To support the Project, a special Cupcakes and Wine Tasting Fundraiser -- which is also the launch party for the Hingham Pride Project -- is planned for Saturday, March 28, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Hingham Community Center. Anita Cocktail, a Provincetown drag queen, will host the event, which will feature six wine tastings accompanied by six delicious mini-cupcakes provided by Victoria Donnelly of Cupcake Wars and Cakeology fame, games, a raffle, and silent auctions.

You can buy your tickets today at: https://hinghamprideprojectlaunch.eventbrite.com to join in the fun while supporting the Hingham Pride Project.

Appreciation for supporters

DeCourcey expressed appreciation to Hingham Community Center for renting them the space for the event and for providing a place for their meetings, to Attorney Christopher DiOrio for providing pro bono legal services, and to others who also support the effort.

Hingham Pride Project board member Daniel Miller-Dempsey said that when he and his husband, Tim, and two sons -- David and Jacob, now in sixth and fifth grade -- moved to Hingham three years they felt welcomed by both same-sex and opposite-sex families.

"We have met a few other gay families in town who felt similarly accepted in their neighborhoods in a way in which 15 or 20 years ago they wouldn't have been.
"We are now on the horizon of transgender acceptance.  It's not a new thing. Kids have been born transgender since the beginning of time, but they are finally out of the shadows and are not generally accepted at the same level as gay males and lesbians are," Miller-Dempsey said.

"There's still a public fear about it, perhaps because it's new territory for some, but at the end of the day these kids are decidedly more at risk than non-transgender youth, especially in school," he said, noting that the suicide rate among transgenders is 40 percent higher than among non-LGBTQ+ individuals.

It's one thing to have an overarching acceptance in Massachusetts of gay marriage and LGBTQ+, but in their day-to-day lives "kids need to know that they are loved and supported," Miller-Dempsey said. "One way to show them that they are is for them to notice [when they see the flags] that there are people on every street corner that have their back. That's what this project is all about."

He went on to say that the Hingham Pride Project is about acknowledging, celebrating, and trying to understand one another and "raising future generations to know that [LGBTQ+] is a fact of life and who these individuals were born to be and that there is space for them here in Hingham."

Miller-Dempsey said he wants his kids to be raised in a world where it doesn't matter who they are -- "but I know it will matter, so I want our youth to have the tools to function in the world as they are meant to be and to create a pathway for them through the obstacles so they can live authentic lives despite the different challenges they might face as they go through life."

Here is a link to show your pride as part of your profile picture: www.facebook.com/profilepicframes/?selected_overlay_id=2450053525106658.

For further information, to purchase tickets, make a donation, volunteer to help plan and execute events, distribute flags, assist with fundraising, or other tasks, or to sign up for a Pride flag to display during the month of June visit hinghamprideproject.org or send an email to HinghamPrideProjectInc@gmail.com.

GENERAL PROJECT SPONSORSHIP

In addition to donations, the Hingham Pride Project offers greater sponsorship opportunities for individuals and businesses who want to show greater levels of support:

Guardian

$1,000 in money, goods, or services
* Your logo displayed in a prominent location on our website
* Individual social media posts, thanking and promoting your business
* Your name or logo to be included in project collateral, which may include (but is not limited to) event and flag installation promotional materials

Champion

$500+ in money, goods, or services
* Your name or logo displayed in the sponsors area of our website
* Your name or logo to be included in project collateral, which may include event and flag installation promotional materials

Advocate

$250+ in money, goods, or services
* Your name displayed in the sponsors area of our website
* Pride Project Hingham "H" window cling

Friend

$100+ in money, goods, or services
* Pride Project Hingham "H" magnet

From time to time, the Hingham Pride Project will hold events to raise funds to allow the group to reach as many families as possible. Both cash and in-kind donations for these events are accepted, with your logo or company name displayed as a thank-you.

For more information on sponsorship, email: HinghamPrideProjectInc@gmail.com