CNM Community to Participate in ABQ Pride Parade June 8

Since 1976, Albuquerque Pride has worked at presenting a positive image of the LGBTQ+ community in our city. The non-profit, officially established in 1997, works to educate the general public on issues of social justice and freedom.

CNM has always prided itself on being an inclusive college, welcoming students from all walks of life. Regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation, CNM strives to make every student feel supported and appreciated as they pursue their educational and career goals.

QCNM, the campus-wide LGBTQ+ community group made up of faculty, staff and students, will march proudly in this year’s Pride Parade that will take place on Saturday, June 8, from 10 a.m. to noon in the Nob Hill neighborhood. The parade will start at Girard Blvd. and head east on Central Avenue to San Pedro Blvd.

“It’s important for CNM to be involved with the Pride Parade,” says LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee Chair Erica Barreiro, also the dean of CNM’s School of Communication, Humanities & Social Sciences. “It lets our CNM community and our Albuquerque community know that CNM is a place in which we are proud of and inclusive of our LGBTQ employees and students.”

According to Albuquerque Pride, the annual parade and corresponding PrideFest events average upwards of 14,000 attendees from around the southwest region.

 “It’s also important for people from minority communities to see themselves reflected in those who represent institutions like CNM,” says LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee Member Brian Rasmussen. “Too often people feel like their future is bleak because they don't have role models. The Pride Parade not only sends a message of inclusion to the community, but it lets people know that they're not alone and that they too have a way to make a contribution to society while improving their lives.”

In conjunction with the LGBTQ+ student group, “CNM Q-Cats,” the LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee has a long list of accomplishments including CNM safe zone trainings, providing gender-neutral bathrooms, Trans 101 trainings, working to implement correct/preferred name changes, and for the first time, the LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee partnered with Southwest Care to bring HIV testing to CNM’s Main Campus during the college’s annual Health and Wellness Fair.

But that’s not all. Committee member and full-time instructor Elizabeth Bennett designed and taught the first ever Queer Studies course at CNM through the School of Communication, Humanities & Social Sciences (CHSS).

During the month of June, in addition to the Albuquerque Pride Parade events, many organizations within the Albuquerque community are hosting their own events to support and cultivate inclusivity and diversity in our city.

For instance, Pride On The Pitch with New Mexico United at Isotopes Park will be held on June 5 and the Albuquerque Pride Candlelight Vigil, a remembrance of the sacrifices made by those trailblazers who fought for equality, will be held on June 6. 

Learn more about QCNM and Albuquerque Pride.