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Soledad officials, community raise Pride flag and read proclamation recognizing June as Pride Month
Summary
City of Soledad officials, community groups and residents gathered at City Hall to raise the Pride flag, hear a proclamation recognizing June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month and highlight local programs supporting LGBTQ+ youth, including a $7.8 million Rainbow Connections project.
City of Soledad officials and community members gathered at the City Hall flagpole to raise the Pride flag and hear a proclamation recognizing June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month. The event included public remarks from community organizers, county and city officials, a moment of silence for transgender and gender‑nonconforming people lost to violence or suicide, and a description of local programs aimed at supporting LGBTQ+ youth.
The event organizer opened the ceremony and read the names of 10 transgender and gender‑nonconforming people who the speaker said were lost to violence or suicide: Kelsey Ellum; Ketoria LaCynthia Banks; Caitlin Reneta Benoit; Linda Becerra Moran; Amiri Dior; Irviana Johnson; Sam Nordquist; Tahiri Broom; Eliza Ray Shoop; and Parker Parker Sabarise. The organizer then invited Monterey County Supervisor Chris Lopez to speak.
“...we stand with you and we stand for you,” Monterey County Supervisor Chris Lopez said, urging the community to support young people who may be struggling and to use local resources when needed. Sam Gomez, a Soledad resident who said they serve on the board of Salinas Valley Pride celebrations, called Pride “a time of joy, of diversity, of liberation” and said the movement was born out of protest, noting Black and Brown trans activists’ role in the movement.
Casey Rittenbush, services manager for Monterey County Behavioral Health and project lead for Rainbow Connections, described Rainbow Connections as a five‑year, $7,800,000 project that supports LGBTQ+ youth and their networks. Rittenbush said the project includes a Youth Empowerment Council that helps guide the program and highlighted youth artwork used for event materials.
Angela Soposeros, a wellness outreach and engagement coordinator with Rainbow Connections, described finding support through local services and urged attendees to be visible and supportive of youth who may feel excluded or unsafe. Mayor Anna Velasquez read a proclamation recognizing June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month and said Soledad is “the first and the only city in South County to raise a Pride flag at City Hall,” an assertion she made while presenting the proclamation.
Event participants, including local school and county officials and partner organizations (named during the event as Epicenter, Salinas Valley Pride celebrations, Partners for Peace and Monterey County Behavioral Health), assembled around the flagpole to raise the Pride flag after the proclamation was read. Organizers distributed stickers designed by a local student, Alexander Ortiz, and encouraged ongoing community support for LGBTQ+ residents.
The ceremony emphasized both celebration and advocacy, with multiple speakers noting national and state‑level debates and actions that they said threaten LGBTQ+ rights, particularly for transgender and gender‑nonconforming people. Organizers and officials urged community members to “speak up, show up” and support local LGBTQ+ services year‑round.
No formal council vote or ordinance was recorded in the transcript for the proclamation or the flag raising; the event consisted of spoken remarks, reading of a proclamation, and the physical raising of the flag.
