ABOUT US
Richmond Rainbow Pride (RRP) is a group of LGBTIQQ individuals and allies who live, work and/or play in or near Richmond, CA, and who come together for the collective benefit of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Richmond Rainbow Pride, the first specifically LGBTIQQ organization in Richmond, was started after 2014 when, during the election cycle, Council Member Jovanka Beckles was continuously attacked for being an open and out member of the LGBTIQQ community. This attack and others and the vitriol that came with them provided the impetus for community members, leaders and organizations to come together, and the Rainbow came out!
Richmond Rainbow Pride meets monthly to strategize on ways to support and serve the LGBTIQQ community as it promotes visibility and solidarity by participating in events such as Juneteenth, Sisters in Solidarity and El Cerrito's Loving Day Celebrations. The group works with the city on LGBTIQQ issues and provided language for our proposed city-funded-travel-ban to states that pass anti-LGBTIQQ legislation, works with the Richmond Human Rights Commission to raise the city's HRC Municipal Equality Index score, holds AIDS awareness vigils, creates public arts projects, and has partnered with the Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project (QWOCMAP), the recipient of a mini-grant from Richmond Arts and Culture Commission (RACC) for the creation of original films to be featured at the first Richmond Rainbow Pride Film and Cultural Event in October 2017.
We organize an annual pride event on the first Sunday in June. On that day we celebrate freedom, dignity, equality rights, strengthened community, diverse sexuality, and gender variance. In addition, our organization reaches out to the Contra Costa public through the many community events in which we host a table with information and LGBTQI literature.
MISSION AND PURPOSE
Richmond Rainbow Pride (RRP) is a group of LGBTIQQ individuals and allies who live, work and/or play in or near Richmond, CA, coming together for the collective benefit of the LGBTIQQ community of Richmond.
GOALS & OBJECTIVES
RRP creates spaces that are safe and welcoming to the LGBTIQQ community of Richmond; holds events of interest to the community; advocates for the interests of the community; and promotes LGBTIQQ visibility in the greater Richmond community.
HISTORY
Richmond has a very diverse community. Richmond Rainbow Pride was born from the thought of continuing to build and strengthen our community. To give our community a sense of belonging, especially for those not aware that Richmond has a very high concentration of LGBTQ residents.
In 2014 we saw a dark cloud of homophobia, during the election cycle, and it brought out various leaders of the community together to organize and mobilize; make the Rainbow come out!
Cesar Zepeda reached out to Jovanka Beckles to talk about what can be done. Jovanka put Cesar in touch with various community leaders.
One evening, Cesar Zepeda and Duane Chapman sat down at IHOP to talk about doing something for our community. Other community leaders joined the conversation and got together to stand up together in our community: Terrence Cheung, Dajenya Kafele, Lynn Sugihara, Brenda Williams, Jamin Pursell, Wade Meyer, Nava Mizrahhi, Richard Bell, Brian Villa, amongst others.
Together we created the City of Richmond' first LGBT organization: Richmond Rainbow Pride.
After many renditions of our logo, Jamin suggested a "hand", in tribute to the Purple Hand movement of 1969. In 2015, Pride in the Park was organized to bring families, friends, and every community together. We had the first all-gender restrooms at our event that was attended by over 100 people. We had several performances, from drag queens, to violins, and poetry. We saw old and young, queer and straight, Black, White, Latino, Asian... a true rainbow of diversity.
Join us as we continue to move our community forward.
BOARD
Jamin Pursell
CoChair and Creative Director
Lynn Sugihara
Member-at-large
Joey Smith
Member-at-large
Leto Green
CoChair
Nicole Valentino
Member-at-large
Ashley Scarborough-Gonzalez
Treasurer
Cesar Zepeda
Member-at-large
BK Williams