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‘Strides for Pride’ remembers 5 LGBTQ+ pioneers
Members of the community make their way from Garapan Fishing Base to American Memorial Park as part of last Friday’s “Strides for Pride.” More than 200 people took part in last Friday’s activity. Members of Marianas High School’s Pride Club held up pictures of five of the CNMI’s past LGBTQ+ figures who have since passed away.
(JOSHUA SANTOS)
Friday’s “Strides for Pride”—essentially a walk and parade from the Garapan Fishing Base to the American Memorial Park—was a joyous occasion that celebrated Pride Month in the CNMI but also had a somber aspect, with the CNMI’s LGBTQ+ community and its allies remembering five members who have already passed on.
T-Project founder Tyra Sablan said that last Friday was a celebration of how far the CNMI’s LGBTQ+ community has come, but also had a deeper meaning. Members of the MHS Pride Club held up pictures of five of the CNMI’s past LGBTQ+ figures who have since passed away.
The five who were honored last Friday were Tonei Camacho, who was the first gay bar owner in the CNMI; Dr. Calistro Cabrera, who was the first openly gay physician in the CNMI; Pamela Tenorio, who was the first openly transwoman in the CNMI; Joseph “Spanky” Fejeran, and Lani Okaruru, a transwoman who left Saipan in 2001 for better opportunities but was brutally murdered at 28 years old in Oregon. Her case remains unsolved to this day.
More than 200 members and supporters of Saipan’s LGBTQ+ community took part in Friday’s “Strides for Pride.” The event began with a roadside waving at Garapan Fishing Base in the afternoon and ended with more festivities at the American Memorial Park amphitheater in the evening. The event was made possible through a collaboration among Pride Marianas, Pride Marianas Youth, and T-Project CNMI.
After participating in a roadside waving at Garapan Fishing Base, the event’s 200-plus participants walked from the base to the American Memorial Park amphitheater, where they were treated to performances by the Marianas High School Glee Club, “Pride Talks” hosted by the Northern Marianas Humanities Council, a short animated film depicting the experience of growing up transgender, and the 2019 documentary State of Pride.
Capping the CNMI’s celebration of Pride Month this year was the Drag Race Marianas 5K that was held on Saturday and a “PMY volunteers pot luck and sunset sails” on Sunday.
June is marked internationally as Pride Month.
