Payne County Pride plans Parade, Picnic & Party

by Robin Dorner
Editor in Chief

Andre Durham said he’s never really been one for the Pride scene. However, he got to thinking more about the needs of the community rather than what he liked or wanted and set his sights on making a difference in the Payne County area.

“It is really important for middle schoolers and high schoolers,” Durham said. “I do respect the need for Pride events, and I did think we needed one in Stillwater.”

Durham is the founder and chair of the Payne Co. Pride committee and stressed this event would not be possible without the entire 13-person committee.

The young activist said when he moved to Stillwater he knew he wanted to be involved. 

“In February of this year, I started a podcast, Our Queer Experience, with someone in Ohio,” said Durham. “We specialize in talking to different folks about their queerness and whatever else they do; political, officers from political parties, an ally.”

Durham said he didn’t even use the term queer until 2009. “It’s sort of an east coast-west coast thing.”

He grew up in Maryland and attended undergrad at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill from 2005-2009. Since then, he has obtained his master’s degree and a Ph.D., then worked in Cincinnati as an advisor in their honors program for a couple of years.

From Cincinnatti, Durham moved to Stillwater where he attends Oklahoma State University working on his doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in Higher Education.

“I worked with a lot of queer students as an advisor. I wear a Pride band on my hand, so students know how I identify. Then, if they have random questions about being queer, they know they can ask.

“With the podcast, I started hearing more queer stories, and with dating, I realized how much there was to have a Pride celebration. I realized maybe no one else was going to do it.”

For Durham, organizing a Pride was not something he normally would be interested in planning.

“It needs to be done, and I can attend a Pride I would want to go to.

“It will be a family-friendly event. We want it to be something that will not only build bridges but will be something for everyone. Some people want to be as sexy as they can be, but at the end of the day, that’s not all there is to any of us. Just like our sexual orientation, gender identity is only one part of who we are.”

Payne County is a rural area. The aim is to include not only Stillwater but also Ripley, Perkins, Cushing, Yale and Glencoe. All the cities or towns in Payne County, but anyone is welcome and encouraged to attend.

“Payne County Pride can only be successful if we affirm the queer community and engage the non-queer community so anyone can ask questions,” said Durham. “We want to have space both on our website and at the event to answer any questions anyone could have. Like, what does ‘cis’ mean, and is it OK to say queer?”

Durham said the event would be comprised in three parts all on April 6, 2019. It’s a “Parade, Picnic & Party” with entertainment, food trucks, and more. It will be held in Stillwater on the Saturday leading into Oklahoma State University (OSU) Pride week. 

The parade will begin at 10 a.m. The picnic and festival will begin after and go through 6 p.m. The party will start soon after the picnic ends.

“We’ll keep going till the party is over,” said Durham.

“I want our Pride to be for everyone. For folks that are fully engaged or those who are not.”

To keep up with Payne County Pride events, follow them on Facebook or visit www.paynecountypride.org.

Copyright The Gayly – November 5, 2018 @ 12:40 p.m. CDT.