It was truly Pride Month as Hanover Democrats heard a powerful message during their June 2025 monthly meeting from Joel McDonald, chair of the LGBTQ+ Democrats of Virginia.
At the Hanover Democratic Committee’s June 8 meeting, McDonald noted that LGBTQ history is being minimized or erased from public schools and public places. Referring to the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York, an inflection point in gay rights history, “just as we should teach about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott, we also must teach about Stonewall,” he said.
Discussing a police raid on the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village and subsequent fight for rights, McDonald said the incident formed the basis for annual Pride marches and celebrations in more than 100 countries worldwide.
“Many people do not understand what Pride is commemorating. We commemorate and celebrate Pride in direct contrast to and protest against the shameful, secret shadows that society forced LGBTQ people to live,” he said in urging people to follow the legacy of Stonewall.
McDonald has served various roles in the LGBTQ+ caucus and in the state party to help elect pro-equality candidates in Virginia.
The committee also heard reports and updates on the 2025 elections in Virginia. The next monthly meeting will be at 4 p.m. on Sunday, July 13, at the usual location of Around the Table, 155 Junction Drive, Ashland.
