'Feels like I am home with family': Bronx LGBT center hosts pride event

BRONX, N.Y. (PIX11) -- There’s only one LGBTQ+ center in the Bronx, and that center hosted a joyous festival for Pride Month in true Bronx style.

It’s the 10th annual de Bronx Pride Festival.

Hundreds of members of the LGBTQ+ community and their allies are celebrating with a performance of Masterz At Work.

This event each year is sponsored by Destination Tomorrow, a national LGBTQ+ nonprofit with centers in New York, Atlanta and D.C.

It was founded in The Bronx in 2009.

“It’s our way of giving back,” Sean Ebony Coleman, the founder and CEO of Destination Tomorrow, told PIX11 News. “Every year, it’s a family reunion. We get together with other community groups and just have a party,” he added.

Da Bronx Pride Festival hopes to create a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community in the Bronx at a time when organizers say 43 anti-trans bills passed this year alone across the country.

Many here see LGBTQ rights under attack.

Jasmine Rosario, also known as JRose, wrote and read aloud a poem about her struggles.

“It was about overcoming heartbreak, overcoming mental health issues, and overcoming imposter syndrome that a lot of people feel in every dynamic in their life,” Jasmine Rosario, a poet, told PIX11 News.

For many, this was a time to eat great food, dance, and celebrate their identities.

“I feel like I am home with family now,” Edgar Merin, a festival goer, told PIX11 News.

Another person in attendance, Mena Flury, told PIX11 News what this festival means to her: “It means a moment to have peace with brothers and sisters and to celebrate rate because it’s my birthday!”

For more information about Destination Tomorrow, go to their website.