In recognition of Pride Month 2024, Yakima Valley Libraries celebrates the history of Yakima Valley’s LGBTQ2S+ community organizations and gatherings. As a part of the Northwest Reading Room’s blog post series, the following article highlights a vibrant local community that advocates for inclusivity. Read on to learn how Yakima Pride celebrations have grown over the years.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, small groups of courageous individuals held informal gatherings like drag shows at hotels, and marches and awareness campaigns at the Yakima Mall (Christie, 1993; Yakima Herald, 2003). They also formed youth groups to support local gay and lesbian youth (Alexander, 1992). In 1995, the Rainbow Cathedral Metropolitan Community Church began hosting an annual Pride Dance at the Double Tree Hotel (Yakima Herald, 2003). Later in 2005, Club 54 was opened to serve as an LGBTQ2S+ gathering place that hosted dances and shows (Yakima Pride, 2024). The same year, First Fridays, organization founder Ken Lewis and his group hosted Pride in the Park at Fulbright in Union Gap. It was part of Yakima Pride Fest, a larger annual event that continued through 2014 (Yakima Pride, 2024).
This period of momentous growth was eclipsed by the 2006 signing of a Washington State Legislature bill that banned discrimination based on sexual orientation. In 2006, Governor Christine Gregoire signed a bill that extended civil rights protections to LGBT2SQ+ Washingtonians. Another historic event in Washington’s history was the passage of Referendum 74 in 2012 which legally recognized same-sex marriage in Washington state.
The first downtown Yakima Pride Celebration was held on July 24, 2015. This celebration was a departure from the annual celebration of Pride in the Park, as the festival was held downtown to increase visibility with the general public.
In 2017, Yakima officially declared LGBTQ Pride Week for the first time, celebrating its citizens’ diversity. Local organizations held a pride march at Performance Park on June 17th to celebrate the occasion.
In 2018, Yakima’s Pride Festival & Parade drew over 500 attendees, marking a major milestone. Four dedicated community members established Yakima Pride as a non-profit organization in 2019; it formalized efforts to support LGBTQ2S+ individuals. That same year, the Yakima Pride’s Festival & Parade’s participants grew to over 1,100 as community acceptance grew (Yakima Pride, 2024).
Pride events expanded to support LGBTQ2S+ youth and families including Rainbow Prom hosted by Yakima Pride in the Centennial Ballroom at the Yakima Valley Museum. For the first time, Yakima City Council declared a proclamation to celebrate June as Pride Month in 2019.
Yakima’s city council celebrated LGBTQ2S+ history by raising a pride flag in 2020. A city proclamation stated that Pride month commemorates the Stonewall riots in June 1969, which are widely recognized as the catalyst of the gay rights movement.
Despite the challenges brought on by the pandemic in 2020, Yakima Pride persevered through innovation and compassion. In 2021 and 2022, they achieved significant milestones, formed partnerships, and secured grants to empower local LGBTQ2S+ organizations. The return of cherished in-person events in 2021 and record attendance in 2022 showcased the community’s resilience and growth (Yakima Pride, 2024).
Yakima’s tradition of pride celebrations honors a commitment to recognize the great diversity in our Valley, and their roots extend back for decades.
-Written by Carlos Pelley
Yakima Valley Libraries is proud to steward stories of Yakima’s diverse history. If you would like to explore this and other stories of Yakima Valley, visit the Northwest Reading Room at Yakima Central Library, where Carlos and Matt can assist you in your research. Learn more about this library service online or email us at archives@yvl.org.
References:
Alexander, A. (1992, February 29). Gays find a place to turn for help and support. Yakima Herald-Republic.
Christie, T. J. (1993, June 6). Protest fizzles, Queer Nation takes message to Yakima Mall. Yakima Herald-Republic.
Herald-Republic, Y. (2020, June 13). Pride flag put up at Yakima City Hall. Yakima Herald-Republic (WA). Available from NewsBank: Access World News: https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&docref=news/17B98D603AEA5238.
(1) Yakima Pride – Timeline of Triumph. https://www.yakimapride.org/about/timeline-of-triumph.
(2) Yakima Pride – Pride Festival. https://www.yakimapride.org/our-work/pride-festival.
(3) Yakima Pride – Yakima Pride Festival & Parade. https://www.yakimapride.org/our-work/festival-parade.
(4) Yakima Pride. https://www.yakimapride.org/.