President Muad’Dib discovered while going through the Utah Pride Center private archives a photo of the “Salt Lake Pagan Community” from the the 1995 Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade. “I didn’t know that the Pagans had been marching in the parade back then. I had thought perhaps that SLPS was the first to march in the parade, but I knew others could have, just there was no evidence. This year is the 26th year of the parade, so now we know they have marched before. SLPS began marching in the parade in 2011 with the Utah Pride Interfaith Coalition.”
The LGBT community has had a long crossover into the Pagan community, as many of the members identify with both. It’s common that LGBT people find the Pagan community more accepting because of how personal the spirituality of Paganism is and how many various paths people walk. Paganism allows individuals to explore facets of deity, the inside self, and the universe they hadn’t previously without putting them into a box or creating a cookie cutter mentality. Often Paganism is more fulfilling than larger organized religion.
The Utah Pride Center has photographs from various events that will be transferred to the Marriott Library Special Collections Archives at the University of Utah this year under the leadership of President Muad’Dib, who works as the library director at the center. The picture below will soon be available for everyone to access in the Multimedia Division. If anyone can identify the individuals, please send SLPS an email or leave a comment.
