Nearly three years ago, a student came to the Sarah Isom Center with a dream of a Pride parade and a permit from the city.  Six weeks later, the Sarah Isom Center launched Oxford’s first Pride Parade. Allies rushed forward to march in the parade, and many LGBTQ students were overwhelmed with the love and acceptance they felt on that day.  Last year, our Pride Weekend expanded its partnerships and brought Big Freedia and drag performers from Pulse Nightclub in Orlando to Oxford.

Oxford Pride has now simply become part of who we are as a community, and this year, in light of other community’s attempts to prevent pride parades, we are extraordinarily grateful for the Oxford community’s embrace of the LGBTQ community.

The Sarah Isom Center believes the Pride parade needs to be a vibrant event every year, to demonstrate our values as a community.  To do that, we need your energy, your creativity, and your presence.  The theme for this year’s parade is “Can’t Stop the Beat,” a response to a year of setbacks and the ongoing resilience of the LGBTQ community.  We invite you to march, build floats, and make signs; we also invite you to gather along the parade route’s sidewalks and balconies and cheer on the participants, many of whom are participating in their very first Pride parade.  Show all who come to the Oxford Pride parade what we stand for and who we stand up for. 

We invite you to plan for our many events, including music, food, film, “Let’s Make a Wheel of Bingo,” drag shows, alumni reunion events, and fundraisers.  For more details about Pride Weekend, please go to oxfordpride.rocks. 

We continue to be proud to be part of the Oxford community, and we hope that, at a time when many in the LGBTQ community feel embattled and exhausted, you can come remind us all of the acceptance, love, and inclusion that defines our community. 

We hope to see you at any and all events!