‘Honor them’: MoPRIDE commemorates 5th anniversary of Pulse nightclub shooting
In one of its first steps toward reopening since the pandemic began, the MoPRIDE Center held an open house for about a dozen people Saturday on the fifth anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida.
“Their lives mattered,” MoPRIDE Center manager Britni Hodge said. “We need to honor them and take care of each other.”
A gunman entered Pulse around 2:30 a.m. early that Sunday morning, killing 49 people and injuring 53 others during the club’s popular Latin Night. Most of the victims were LGBTQ+ and people of color.
The massacre remains the deadliest attack against the LGBTQ+ community in the United States.
Corey Ploutz remembered that when he heard the news about Pulse five years ago, he just started crying. “It’s senseless when it happens anywhere,” the activist said. “It hits home further when it’s right there in your community.”
Just last month, a man made a comment about Ploutz’s rainbow mask while he was downtown in Modesto.
Jordan Jones, 31, came into the center for the first time Saturday after seeing the Facebook event and posts about the Pride gear available. Jones said she and her younger sister are members of the LGBTQ+ community. She remembers that after Pulse, she was afraid of the world her sister was growing up in.
“I just remember feeling really upset,” she said.
Hodge said the Pulse shooting was an eye-opening realization for the lack of resources available to the LGBTQ+ community in the Modesto area. The MoPRIDE Center opened about six months later.
Some people could find a space for themselves at gay bars, but there wasn’t anywhere for people of all ages to find the support or community they needed.
Now the center offers a little bit of everything: educational resources, support groups, holiday feasts and game nights. There also are resources for the area’s homeless population, such as donated clothing and hygiene kits.
Hodge said that while she’s seen improvements in LBGTQ+ acceptance around Modesto, especially for younger people, not everything is a sign of progress.
There have been two “straight pride” events in the city since 2019, with last year’s including militia members and Proud Boys. The center regularly receives hate mail and has had its windows broken twice since the pandemic began, Hodge said.
But Saturday also offered a little bit of room to celebrate. There was a table at the center filled with Pride flags and buttons for people to take, a reminder that June still means Pride Month and a time to celebrate LGBTQ+ identity.
The center, at 400 12th St., Suite 2, is looking for volunteers to do work there and help with social media. Volunteers do not have to be part of the LGBTQ+ community.
To learn more, visit centralvalleypridecenter.org or call 209-284-0999.
This story was originally published June 14, 2021 at 5:03 AM.
