City of Portsmouth NH Celebrates Pride Month with Proclamation, Flag-raising and LGBTQ+ History Exhibit in City Hall

For the past several years, the Mayor of Portsmouth has expressed the commitment of the Portsmouth City Council to its goal “to welcome and support diversity in the workplace and community” with a Proclamation of “LGBTQ+ Pride Month in Portsmouth.”

On Thursday, June 1, 2023, Congressional District 1 Representative Chris Pappas (D-NH) will join Mayor Deaglan McEachern for remarks and the reading of the Proclamation in a short ceremony that concludes with the raising of the LGBTQ+ Pride rainbow flag. The event takes place at 1 pm at the flagpole in Market Square.

In addition to these initiatives, the City Council at their May 15 meeting considered a request by Tom Kaufhold, founder of the Seacoast LGBTQ History Project, to place six panels describing the history of the LGBTQ community on the seacoast in the Portsmouth Room at City Hall for the month of June 2023. Each of the 3 ft. x 6 ft. rainbow-colored panels covers a specific area of history: Arts and Culture, Health, Politics, Commerce, Social Groups and Spirituality. The panels were created for a 2019 exhibit at the Portsmouth Public Library and have since been loaned to various organizations for display.

The Mayor’s Proclamation notes, “Pride flags, messages, and marches such as the one each year here in Portsmouth are prominent reminders of the basic right to the freedom of assembly and expression. Being ‘The City of the Open Door’ means living up to the promises of keeping our doors open to every member of this community.”