Newark LGBTQ Pride Week celebrates a 'Legacy of Liberation' in NJ

It’s time for Pride in Newark.

The 17th annual Newark LGBTQ Pride Week runs through July 17, with festivities happening across the city centered around the theme of “Legacy of Liberation.”

Newark Pride was born in an act of protest in the wake of the 2003 murder of Sakia Gunn, a 15-year-old Black lesbian who was stabbed at the corner of Market and Broad in the city. Gunn will be remembered with the Sakia Gunn Day of Service, 2 to 3 p.m. Tuesday at the corner South Street nd McCarter Highway. Participants are encouraged to “spread love to your community in your own way,” then join Newark Pride to place flowers at a mural honoring Gunn.

“The community response from local LGBTQ agencies advocating for justice (after Gunn’s death) birthed an annual gathering the third week of July to commemorate her life, demonstrate our presence in solidarity, and to fellowship freely without fear,” Newark Pride, Inc. executive vice president Alonzo S. Blalock said in a statement.

The city and the office of mayor Ras Baraka host a raising of the Progressive Pride Flag 6 p.m. Monday inside Newark City Hall Rotunda, 920 Broad Street.

SOURCE: NorthJersey.com