Block party in Nyack celebrates diversity, intersectionality of LGBTQ+ community

NYACK — This was not your typical Pride event. This was a low-key kind of celebration, there were no parades, floats or street closures, but what was palpable was a strong sense of community.

On the downtown corner of Main and Cedar streets in Nyack, Black and Brown faces gathered at Hezekiah Easter Square (formerly Veterans Memorial Park), where adults chatted and tended to barrel-shaped grills while children ran around and rode scooters. The transgender, lesbian, asexual and progress Pride flags decorated the outdoor space; colorful posters, placed along the beams of the park's gazebo, featured photos and quotations from BIPOC queer icons like Bayard Rustin and Laverne Cox.

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From 2021: Nyack square named for Hezekiah Easter, World War II vet, first Black elected official in Rockland

For the fourth year, the Phyllis B. Frank Pride Center of Rockland County partnered with the Nyack chapter of the NAACP to host their Black LGBTQ+ Pride Community Block Party June 13, a celebration where Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) can just— be.

“We created the event alongside — in collaboration with — the Nyack chapter of the NAACP, to make sure that we remember that there are Black, Indigenous, People of Color who are also queer here in Rockland county,” said Alessandra Francisco, the director of youth and young adult services at the Rockland Pride Center. “We can’t ever forget that that is a very, very true intersectional part of our community.”

The event, hosted in the square named after the first Black elected official in Rockland, Hezekiah Easter, welcomed people of all ethnicities. Attendees took part in activities like a community art project, a BIPOC book swap and, of course, food.

“We have this block party and barbecue free food for the community,” said Nikki Hines, president of the Nyack NAACP branch. “We’re here in support of the LGBTQ+ community.”

Samantha Antrum is the community news and outreach reporter for The Journal News/lohud. She reports on cultural and social justice issues and events, with a focus on BIPOC and underrepresented communities. You can reach her at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Block party in Nyack NY highlights diversity of LGBTQ+ community