Kendall County Board discusses need to recognize Pride Month

Two Kendall County Board members recognized Pride Month at a recent board meeting while another board member voiced frustration that the board no longer passes proclamations recognizing different groups of people.

“I wanted to take a moment of our meeting today to talk about Pride Month, which I know is important to many people and families in our community, including my own,” District 2 board member Zach Bachmann said at the June 18 Kendall County Board meeting. “First, I want to say if you identify as LGBTQ, that you are legitimate and that you are loved and valued by this community. As we reflect on this month and how far we have come, let us recognize that advocating and fighting for those most marginalized and vulnerable amongst us is something that we must constantly partake in, that our progress was not generated in a vacuum, but rather, the product of people and our allies fearlessly fighting for their rights.”

Bachmann also took note of the “constant contributions that members of the LGBTQ community have made to the benefit of our society, from science to health care to literature and politics. Their history is a key part of our history.”

District 2 board member Elizabeth Flowers also spoke about the importance of Pride Month. Pride Month is celebrated each year in June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan.

“Throughout the month of awareness, we have the opportunity to focus on issues and reflect on experiences,” Flowers said.

District 2 board member Brooke Shanley congratulated the village of Oswego for recently approving a proclamation recognizing Pride Month for the first time in the village’s history.

“I think it is a huge step for the village of Oswego to bring forth this resolution and pass it and really recognize all members of their community in an effort to build inclusivity and to honor the humanity that each and every one of us brings to the table within our community,” Shanley said.

Shanley said a resolution for the Kendall County Board to recognize Pride Month last June was never brought forward. She also noted the board no longer passes resolutions to celebrate different groups of people.

She said the county board has a duty to recognize months such as Pride Month and Hispanic American Heritage Month as a way to “educate our communities and as an opportunity for us to foster inclusivity and oneness.”

Kendall County Board Chairman Matt Kellogg said staff had been preparing such resolutions but that he took such proclamations off the county board agendas because it is not the responsibility of staff to recognize different groups. However, he said county board members are welcome to recognize different groups at board meetings.