Welcome to our third annual Pride issue. It’s the least we can do as a plausibly respectable rag in a formerly red now apparently purpling part of North Texas. We hope our issue especially helps the closeted members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Maybe they can see that a 27-year-old media outlet with a print circulation of 35,000 and with 42.5K followers on Instagram and 23K on Facebook has their back. And we most certainly do.
Some advertisers may slam their doors in our faces and some places of business may toss our newspaper stands out into the street. But it’s not for those people that we do what we do. We do what we do, including publish a Pride issue every year during Pride Month, because it’s the right thing to do. “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’” That’s Matthew: 25:40 from this little book called the Bible. You should read it sometime.
And while we’re not questioning the strength of LGBTQIA+ people, we know they have never been more vulnerable than they are now. The 2022-2023 National Crime Victimization Survey reveals that LGBTQIA+ people are five times more likely than non-LGBTQIA+ people to be the victims of violent crime and that LGBTQIA+ people are nine times more likely to experience violent hate crimes than non-LGBTQIA+ people.
Anti-LGBTQIA+ hate crime is rising across the country but particularly in the states rolling back LGBTQIA+ protections, like Texas. Based on national data, 61 anti-LGBTQIA+ incidents, including physical assault, occurred here last year. The only other states with as many or more incidents were New York (61) and California (125), according to the Anti-LGBTQ+ Extremism Reporting Tracker (ALERT) Desk, a project of the LGBTQIA+ advocacy nonprofit GLAAD. Our issue is not going to stop the violence, but perhaps it may encourage the most vulnerable LGBTQIA+ people to seek intellectual solidarity with us and, more importantly, emotional solidarity with others.
Like the Rev. Alan Bentrup, the priest of St. Martin-in-the-Fields who is opening his Keller church to a Pride festival in October (pg. 5). Or Jennifer Zooki Sturges, whose annual Riot Girl Festival brings together femmes and the LGBTQIA+ community over hard rock and punk (pg. 22). Or everyone at Trinty Pride Fest on Sat, Jun 28, on the Near Southside (pg. 13). As the recent No Kings rallies have proven, the bad guys in charge can’t arrest all of us, but that’s only if we stick together. Be loud, be proud. — Anthony Mariani, Editor
Photo by Wyatt Newquist
What’s inside the Pride 2025 special issue? Glad you asked.
Cover Story: Music // Some Birds Can’t Be Caged
The Vandoliers welcome change. In their 10 years as a band, they’ve transitioned from Fort Worth to Dallas, from local success to national acclaim, and now, on the eve of the release of the cowpunk group’s fifth album, Life Behind Bars, a transition no one saw coming: Frontperson Joshua Fleming is now trans woman Jenni Rose. Well, not exactly no one. A little publication called Rolling Stone recently came a-calling, and just like the Weekly, they dialed an 817 number to reach her. Read more here.
Metro // Pride Arrives in Kel-So
Despite “a lot” of pushback, a married lesbian couple and the priest at St. Martin-in-the-Fields will celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community with a festival in October— in hyper-conservative Keller-Southlake. The inaugural event has experienced some difficulty launching. The wealthy, white, Christian area is a conservative Republican stronghold, so pushback was expected. Read more here.
Metro // God Save the ‘Repubic’ Party
About a month ago, E.R. Bills had a very demoralizing LGBTQ+ discussion with a longtime friend, a guy who was almost like a brother, a man whose opinion he usually respected and whose views on the world had sometimes informed his. “He condemned and continues to condemn January 6 as an act of insurrection. He also disagrees with Donald Trump’s pardon of the J6 perpetrators. But he voted for Taco and still supports Taco because he claims he currently has one teen and one preteen child, upon whom the “Democrat” party is “forcing” transsexuality.” Read more here.
Stage // Ushering In
A nonbinary voice actor headlines Circle Theatre’s production of the Tony- and Pulitzer-winning A Strange Loop. North Texas’ Kiba Walker stars as an artist struggling with Black gay identity. Walker has done community events in Fort Worth before but never a theater show. The nonbinary actor says they love working with Circle Theatre, the downtown space where the show they’re referring to will open this weekend and run through mid-July. Read more here.
Stuff // Fly the Colors
For the Dallas Wings, Pride Night lasts all year long. At the end of a Dallas Wings’ recent practice, Head Coach Chris Koclanes gathered his team at center court. He instructed them to continue to “build” their “identity.” He urged the squad to play unselfishly, share the ball, and do all the things he felt necessary to make that identity a winning one.That Sunday, the franchise that employs Koclanes and his players was hosting an event they hoped would be indicative of the organization’s identity as a whole.They staged their annual Pride Game. Read more here.
Calendar // Proud All Night & All Day
In celebration of Pride Month, many North Texas organizations are hosting events over the next couple of weeks to support the LGBTQIA+ community and raise awareness about some very real issues. A few local events have already happened — sorry, we’re a little late to the party — so we’re including some of our favorite pictures from those as well. Read more here.
Eats & Drinks // Ate Days of Trinity Pride Fest
Trinity Pride Fest returns to the Near Southside with a reimagined celebration in South Main Village on Sat, Jun 28. Along with live performances, local vendors, and community events, there will be a variety of delicious eats and drinks. Here are way more than eight for your consideration.
Music // Riot Girl Fest Expands
From rocking out to Bikini Kill, L7, and Sleater-Kinney in the ’90s as a teen, Fort Worth’s Jennifer Zooki Sturges has been doing her music idols proud, not only as the front person of a queer-forward rock outfit (Ex-Regrets) but as the producer of an annual festival celebrating all things femme and LGBTQIA+. Now in its eighth year and inspired by the global Riot Grrl movement of the 1990s, Riot Girl Fest is set for Sat, Oct 4, at Growl Records in Arlington (509 E Abram St, 682-252-7639) to raise money for local female-centric and LGBTQIA+ nonprofits while empowering, educating, and entertaining the local femme and queer communities. Read more here.
The End
Did you miss your chance to pick up Pride 2025 in the stands? No worries. We’ve got you covered. To see this annual issue in a flipbook, cover-to-cover format, click here.
