CRANFORD — Pride month kicked off with a community flag raising in Cranford.
The event was on the front lawn of the township of Cranford Municipal Building. Cranford Mayor Kathleen Miller Prunty thanked former Mayor Brian Andrews, Deputy Mayor Paul Gallo, the Cranford Fire Department, the Cranford Police Department and the Cranford Department of Public Works.
This was the seventh year that Cranford had a Pride flag-raising ceremony.
Union County Commissioner Rebecca Williams said, “Pride month is a time to celebrate progress made. What makes events like this important is they bring people together. Diversity is one of our greatest strengths. It makes our county vibrant and resilient. As the flag is raised, may it serve as a symbol of pride, acceptance and hope.”
Miller Prunty introduced keynote speaker Derrick Rose, who lives in Cranford with his husband. Rose serves on the board of Cranford’s Environmental Commission. Rose and his husband host a foreign exchange student every year. “Derrick is so genuinely committed to our town,” she said. “I’m so glad you chose Cranford as your home.”
“It is an honor to be here with you today to celebrate Pride, to celebrate community and to celebrate the simple but powerful idea that every person deserves to be seen, respected, protected and loved exactly as they are,” said Rose.
Continuing, he said, “My husband and I moved to Cranford in July of 2021. We came here from Arkansas and we knew almost no one. Like many people who move somewhere new, I kept wondering: How do I meet people? How do I make friends? How do I become part of this place in a way that feels real? Eventually, I realized that maybe the answer was not to wait for (the) community to find me. Maybe the answer was to serve.”
Rose and his husband host exchange students through American Field Service–USA. “That experience has been one of the most remarkable ways we have expanded our family,” he said. “When you open your home to a young person from another country, cultural exchange becomes much more than travel, language or passports. It becomes sitting around the same table. It becomes sharing ordinary days. It becomes learning that people from different places can still laugh at the same things, worry about the same things and care for one another in deeply human ways.”
Continuing, he said, “At its best, cultural exchange makes the world feel both bigger and smaller. Bigger, because it introduces us to new perspectives, histories, traditions and ways of seeing the world. Small, because it reminds us that across borders and backgrounds, we are all looking for connection, belonging and understanding. We are thankful to the Cranford Public School District in supporting cultural exchange. That support has mattered. When schools and communities welcome exchange students, they enrich not only one student’s life, but an entire classroom, an entire school and an entire community.”
Rose explained that same spirit is why he’s been grateful to support PFLAG (Parents, Friends and Families of Lesbians and Gays) Cranford-Union as a past leadership team member. He said, “Organizations like PFLAG are invaluable because they create space for people to come together, ask questions, find support, learn, and know that they are not alone. For LGBTQ people, for parents, for families and for allies, that kind of community can be life-changing.”
Concluding, Rose said, “I want to challenge everyone here – members of the LGBTQIA+ community and our allies – to proudly fly a Pride flag in front of your home this year. Not just as a symbol, but as a message. A message that everyone deserves to feel safe. A message that love belongs here. A message that our community stands together. Your flag may be exactly what someone needs to see. Thank you, Cranford, and happy Pride.”
Miller Prunty said, “This is Cranford. Everyone is welcome here!”
And then everyone gathered for the Pride flag raising.
Visit the Cranford website at: https://www.cranfordnj.org/.
Photos by Maryanne Christiano-Mistretta
