The Pride flag rose outside the Washtenaw County Administration Building Friday as the crowd applauded and elected officials, county employees and community members marked the county’s inaugural Pride celebration.
“Community doesn’t happen by accident,” said Joe Halsch, executive director of the Jim Toy Community Center. “It doesn’t happen because we raise a flag. It doesn’t happen because we host a festival. It doesn’t happen because we open a community center.”
Halsch said those symbols and events matter, but their meaning comes from the people behind them: volunteers, parents, nonprofit leaders, business owners, faith leaders, elected officials and neighbors who decide everyone deserves a place to belong.
“A flag alone cannot solve every problem,” Halsch said. “But when it’s backed by people who are willing to show up for one another, that flag becomes a promise.”…