'Go to both': Murfreesboro keeps BoroPride LGBTQ+ festival and adds Ruco Pride Celebration

Murfreesboro will have two LGBTQ+ groups celebrating pride events in 2024 after the government unsuccessfully sought to ban BoroPride.

BoroPride organizers plan to continue the annual festival in the fall. Also, the inaugural RuCo Pride Celebration will provide a another festival 3-9 p.m. June 29 on the exterior grounds of Oaklands Mansion, an historic home at 900 N. Maney Ave. in the downtown Murfreesboro area.

"Go to both," said Norman Hanks, who's been involved with each group. "It's not a competition."

The goal for the new Rutherford County Pride group is to hold monthly gatherings and "bring each other together on a regular basis," said Hanks, who recently accepted promotion to serve as the executive director for Nourish Food Bank in Murfreesboro.

Hanks is also among the BoroPride supporters pleased they were able to continue the annual festival in 2023 after the event started in 2016. BoroPride organizers with the Tennessee Equality Project Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union sued the Murfreesboro government to ensure the annual LGBTQ+ festival still happened in October in 2023 at Tennessee Miller Coliseum.

The Murfreesboro City Council settled the lawsuit in early 2024 by repealing a controversial community decency standards ordinance that the plaintiffs said violated their First Amendment Rights. The city also agreed to pay $500,000 to the plaintiffs.

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Settlement will promote pride events and report on book banning

Hanks and others who have participated with BoroPride were upset fall 2022 when Murfreesboro City Manager Craig Tindall sent a letter to festival organizers saying he would reject future permits for the annual LGBTQ+ event and drag show to use city property.

Tindall's letter accused BoroPride organizers of exposing “children to a harmful prurient interest.”

The Murfreesboro City Council by June approved the community decency standards ordinance that ended up getting repealed. Only Vice Mayor Bill Shacklett opposed and expressed concerns the policy would lead to library book bans.

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The Tennessee Equality Project Foundation received $185,000 from the settlement, said Chris Sanders, the executive director of the organization that advocates equal rights for LGBTQ people.

"These funds will help us put on BoroPride and expand our educational programming related to advocacy around the state," Sanders said. "We will, for example, soon be releasing an extensive report on book bans in Tennessee, including Rutherford County. We have recently provided seed money for a new Pride celebration in Coffee County, and we will be increasing our support for other regional Pride celebrations. We are exploring several projects to strengthen the networks, programs, and capacity of the LGBTQ community."

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Ruco Pride will gather for premier of 'We're Here' filmed in Murfreesboro

Now that legal issues have been resolved, Hanks wants to build on monthly events of Rutherford County Pride that provide a safe place for LGBTQ+ people to be themselves.

The upcoming 6 p.m. April 26 free event will be a "Red Carpet Premier" at Premier 6 Theatre for the showing the first of three episodes of the HBO Max documentary series, "We're Here," filmed in Murfreesboro. The show includes drag performers making appearances in various communities where people have sought to deny First Amendment rights.

Three of the shows drag performers made an appearance in August in front of the Murfreesboro City Council.

The theater for the April event has about 70 seats. Hanks encourages people to sign up in advance through his group's Facebook page, Rutherford County Pride, or through the website, rucopride.com.

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Straight white woman advocates for LGBTQ+ people

The film crew for "We're Here" also interviewed Ruco Pride co-founder Missy Lay, a Murfreesboro resident who's also an event organizer for the group.

Lay describes herself as a straight white woman who's a strong advocate for LGBTQ+ people.

"It was almost a calling for me," said Lay, who transformed her past views of LGBTQ+ people "to be a spark (for) change."

Lay went from being a conservative, young Republican, "uber religious" college student who rejected having a gay roommate to becoming the advocate she is today.

"Now I exist to make things right," Lay said. "If you are a follower of Christ, he says to love one another. There’s no conditions."

LGBTQ+ people can sometimes struggle "to exist in their own skin with who they are," Lay said.

"You need to let them exist," Lay said. "To me, the most inclusive group in the world are the gay people. Everyone deserves the love. That is the closest thing to Jesus that I have seen."

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RuCoPride will include drag performers, kids play area

Hanks expects his Veronica Paige Velour persona to perform in the upcoming Ruco Pride festival in June along with the reigning BoroPride King and Queen and two to three other local performers.

About two to three bands also will perform at the event.

The RucoPride festival will have vendors, including one that promote local services safe for LGBTQ+ people, a beer tent, and a kids play area with face painting, balloon animals and story-time, Hanks and Lay said.

Rutherford County Pride wants RucoPride to be "just a fun thing for people" and "build each other up," Hanks said.

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RuCo Pride includes monthly activities

The goal of Ruco Pride is to create a safe gathering place for LGBTQ+ "people in our community who don't necessarily feel safe," Lay said.

RuCo Pride, for example, supports a monthly drag show that Veronica Paige Velour hosts in Smyrna as well as other activities announced on the group's Rutherford County Pride Facebook page or through the rucopride.com website, Lay said.

The group's monthly activities also have included Friendsgiving that served a traditional Thanksgiving meal, a coffee house night and a bowling night, Hanks said.

"We have something every month," Hanks said. "We're here to support everyone."

The Tennessee Equality Project also has regular meetings in Rutherford County.

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Reach reporter Scott Broden with news tips or questions by emailing him at sbroden@dnj.com. Follow him on Twitter @ScottBroden. To support his work with The Daily News Journal, sign up for a digital subscription.

To learn more about Ruco Pride

• Website: rucopride.com.

• Facebook group page: Rutherford County Pride

Sources: Ruco Pride cofounders Norman Hanks and Missy Lay

This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Murfreesboro keeps BoroPride LGBTQ+ event, adds Ruco Pride Celebration