Description
In this expanded June 26, 2020, episode of the BRCSJ Power Hour, Chief Activist Robt Seda-Schreiber and co-host Hayley Rubens-Toki host a special broadcast celebrating the one-year anniversary of Princeton's historic inaugural Pride Parade while preparing for the center’s upcoming 2020 Virtual Pride event. The broadcast features archival footage from the June 2019 celebration—which was originally organized in just eight weeks for Stonewall 50 and drew over 3,000 marchers—including the night-before dance party at the Princeton Arts Council and early-morning parade preparations. The hosts welcome Grand Marshal Glenn Pannell (performing in drag as "Mike Hot-Pants," a satirical take on Vice President Mike Pence who has raised over $56,000 for progressive causes), who reflects on the transformative energy of leading thousands of people down Witherspoon Street and feeling the tangible power of community love.
The second half of the broadcast showcases highlights from the 2019 parade march and rally at the YMCA fields, capturing a vibrant cross-section of New Jersey leadership and community organizations. Footage includes addresses by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and First Lady Tammy Murphy, who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the LGBTQIA+ community, as well as Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker and 11-year-old transgender activist Mannie Martinez, who delivered an inspiring speech about coming out in middle school. The program also highlights the musical contributions of the Philadelphia Freedom Band, led by Jim Blog, who reflected on growing up queer in New Jersey during the 1990s and the life-saving impact of youth resources like HiTOPS on Wiggins Street.
The broadcast concludes with a series of candid, on-the-ground interviews conducted by volunteer Ethan Sokol and edited by 80-year-old community veteran Frank Mahood. Intergenerational attendees—ranging from first-time Pride participants and local youth to senior activists—share what the historic demonstration meant to them. Frank Mahood, who helped found one of Princeton University's earliest gay student organizations 50 years prior, reflects with Grand Marshal Glenn Pannell on the long arc of civil rights history, noting how younger generations are now able to celebrate their identities openly without the immediate fear of criminal arrest that defined mid-century queer life.
Throughout the 95-minute stream, Seda-Schreiber and Rubens-Toki emphasize that while the COVID-19 pandemic forced 2020 celebrations to move online, the spirit of Pride remains rooted in the BRCSJ's core mission of "angelic troublemaking," intersectional family support, and community care. They highlight upcoming virtual programming featuring high-profile guests—including Darnell Moore, NJ Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver, Lizz Winstead, author Ibram X. Kendi, and drag icon Harmonica Sunbeam—and acknowledge local partnerships like Sourland Mountain Spirits, which donated proceeds from a limited-edition Pride bottle to support the center. The episode serves as both a nostalgic retrospective of Princeton's landmark 2019 parade and a testament to the center's ability to adapt nonviolent organizing tactics to digital spaces.
Historical Context
In the summer of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of traditional, in-person Pride parades across the globe, compelling LGBTQIA+ organizations to rapidly pioneer virtual alternatives. To maintain community continuity during lockdown, Robt Seda-Schreiber hosted daily BRCSJ Power Hours, creating a vital digital lifeline for isolated queer youth and seniors. This digital shift coincided with a period of profound national reckoning following the murder of George Floyd, which sparked worldwide protests and drew renewed attention to evenrs such as the foundational history of the 1969 Stonewall Riots. For community centers like the BRCSJ, virtual broadcasts served as critical safe spaces when physical gatherings were impossible.
This 2020 broadcast also commemorates the one-year anniversary of the June 22, 2019, Princeton Pride Parade, which was the very first town-sanctioned Pride parade in Princeton's history. Organized in just eight weeks by the BRCSJ to mark the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, the 2019 parade defied expectations by drawing an estimated 3,000 participants—far exceeding initial projections—and bringing together state officials, grassroots activists, and local families. By archiving both the 2019 physical march and the 2020 virtual retrospective, researchers can document how local activist centers successfully adapted mid-century civil rights strategies to maintain visibility, foster community solidarity, and celebrate queer joy during a major global crisis.
View video:
Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice. "BRCSJ Power Hour: Virtual Pride Preview & 2019 Princeton Pride Retrospective." YouTube video, 1:35:11. Streamed live June 26, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVdHdowMlTg.
