06/05/2026
🏳️🌈🌈💖 - Happy Pride Month! Sending love always to our vibrant LGBTQ+ community and dedicated allies. Our hope is that you always feel seen, heard, and truly safe just as you are. We are so excited to keep creating meaningful moments together and deepening our commitment to Pride for many years to come.
Township of Nutley Proclaims June Pride Month at BOC Meeting
The Township of Nutley proclaimed June Pride Month last night at the Board of Commissioners meeting held at the Parks and Recreation Department. Mayor John Kelly, III welcomed those in attendance before reading the proclamation, which stated:
WHEREAS, our nation was founded on the principle of equal rights for all people, but the fulfillment of this nation’s promise has been long in coming for many Americans. Some of the most inspiring moments in our history, have arisen from the various civil rights movements that have brought one group after another from the margins to the mainstream of American Society; and
WHEREAS, the Nutley Board of Commissioners welcomes and encourages diversity and inclusion within our community, and everyone should be able to live without fear of prejudice, discrimination,violence, and hatred, based on race, religion, gender identity, or sexual orientation; and
WHEREAS, June 28, 2026, marks the 57th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising in New York City. It is the historic turning point where the le***an, gay, bisexual, transgender, q***r/questioning, and plus (LGBTQ+) citizens rose up and fought against the discriminator, which sparked the gay rights movement; and
WHEREAS, in the movement towards civil rights for LGBTQ+ people, celebrations have taken place around the country every June to commemorate “Pride Month” and to recognize the advancement of the LGBTQ+ community; and
WHEREAS, celebrating Pride Month does raise awareness and provide support and advocacy for the LGBTQ plus community and is an opportunity to become educated, engage in dialogue, strengthen alliances, and build understanding. While there has certainly been remarkable progress towards acceptance and equality, members of the LGBTQ+ community still continue to face, insensitivity, discrimination, and intolerance; and
WHEREAS, we must commit to support and accept LGBTQ+ individuals, in particular, our youth, who, compared to their peers, are more likely to experience, violence and bullying at school, suffer from depression, struggle with substance use, and to have attempted su***de; and
WHEREAS, Executive Director, Angelica Midolo and Community Engagement Coordinator, Paul Blank work tirelessly throughout the year to raise awareness and engage the community through various events and activities;
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT PROCLAIMED, by the Nutley Board of Commissioners in the Township of Nutley, County of Essex, State of New Jersey, hereby proclaim and recognize the month of June as le***an, gay, bisexual, transgender, q***r/questioning and plus (LGBTQ+) Pride Month, and we urge all residents to actively promote the principles of equality and liberty, and we remind the LGBTQ+ community that they are loved and cherished and seen for who they are, deserving of dignity, respect, and support throughout our Township.
Nutley Pride Executive Director Angelica Midolo, joined by Community Engagement Coordinator Paul Blank, stepped forward to speak on behalf of the organization.
“I want to extend my deepest gratitude to the Commissioners, Mayor Kelly, and Meredith Blank, and to everyone in this room who continues to stand fiercely beside us. Thank you for your visibility, your action, and your genuine allyship.
“When Nutley Pride was founded in 2019, its blueprint was simple, yet vital: to ensure inclusivity, and safety for the LGBTQ+ community here in Nutley. Since then, we have proudly extended that throughout Essex County. We have built spaces where communities can gather in joy and in love and in radical freedom of being unapologetically who they are. Our mission is rooted in a simple truth: our community deserves to be seen, heard, protected, and loved.
“While this allows me the honor to stand here and speak on behalf of Nutley Pride, the real heartbeat of this organization is the people in our community. We're the neighbors you pass in Yanticaw Park who smile and say, ‘Good morning.’ We're the familiar faces that nod at you in Ralph's Pizza while waiting for the perfectly well-done slice. We're the people who make Nutley Pride what it is, and we are the people who make Nutley great. Thank you for your time today.”
Midolo asked Reverend Asa Coulson of Nutley’s Grace Church to say a few words. “Before I arrived in Nutley about two and a half years ago, I was told that Nutley was a great town in many ways, and that I should be careful, because folks in Nutley are suspicious of outsiders, and they don't like change,” Father Asa stated. “Well, as someone who works in the church, I can attest that it is not just the citizens of Nutley who don't like change. No one likes change. So I wasn't worried about that. But what I found here in Nutley has been a municipality bordered not just by the Parkway and the Passaic River, but a community bound together with cords of faith, of family, and of course, sports. Go Raiders!
“I have found that those attributes of faith and family are exactly how Nutley continues to grow in our loving acceptance and welcome of increased diversity in our community for members of the LGBTQ+ family, and more,” Coulson added. “As leaders in this town, your support of this Pride Month proclamation continues to help many folks in our neighborhood to expand their own definitions of family, to include those families made from same-gender marriages, families built through adoption by loving parents, straight and q***r, families built not just on genetics, but upon friendship, mutual respect, and most of all, love. I am so grateful to Mayor Kelly and the Commissioners for their support of this Pride Month proclamation, and I encourage all of us gathered here tonight to move beyond our words, beyond our rainbow pins, and to continue the work for acceptance and safety of LGBTQ+ citizens in this amazing town.”
