Hate Has No Home In Asbury Park: A Peaceful Protest Against The “Festival of Life.”
Over the past few years “Pride Day” in Asbury Park, NJ has gone smoothly but this year was very different. Pride Day is the last Sunday in June and in Asbury Park it’s held in Bradley Park, an idyllic location a block away from the beach. However, this year Bradley Park was given to Revivalist Reverend Jonathan Shuttlesworth and his “Festival of Life.” Shuttlesworth is no stranger to making anti-LGBTQ comments as he once said that “somebody bound in homosexuality [has a] wicked spirit.” Needless to say that once the LGBTQ community and its allies heard of Shuttlesworth’s festival coming to town, it did not take long for them to come up with a counter festival that welcomes all.
According to the Facebook group Hate Has No Home in Asbury Park: A Peaceful Protest Against FOL, managed by We Are Asbury Park, their mission statement reads:
“There is a homophobic, transphobic, anti-islam, anti-woman evangelical "church" organization en route to #Asbury Park this weekend. This traveling evangelist freak show is bringing it’s message of hate and oppression under the guise of a “festival of life” to Bradley Park, where #PRIDE is usually held, on June 24th - June 29th. Six days of this nonsense...
And so my friends, I am asking for your help…On Sunday at 6 pm, this bizarre carnival of misbegotten gospel-spewing begins. The loose plan right now is to gear up in your brightest rainbows and SHINE outside the barriers. Let’s let him and his organization know that we have the NUMBERS and that HATE IS NOT WELCOME HERE…”
While they may not have had prizes to dole out, the group of LGBTQ members and thier allies had much more: they had peace and love to give to anyone who wanted it. In addition to their love and good vibes, the counter festival also had food for anyone who wanted it, a voter registration table, pro-LGBTQ and pro-immigrant tables, as well as local musicians and speakers. At one point the entire crowd burst out singing “God Bless America” so loud that it could be heard across the street at the Festival of Life. Following that, there were reports of people being turned away from the F.o.L. so the We Are Asbury Park members invited them to come over and join the party, proving that they really are all about love and community.
Those speaking at the F.o.L. were heard across the way at Atlantic Park but so were the counter festival goers, as everything from Against Me! and Bad Religion to Public Enemy and Grandmaster Flash was blasted through the speakers prompting one big gay dance party. As the counter-festival goers danced and hugged, supporters in the nearby Asbury Hotel would frequently drop rainbow confetti from the rooftop garden adding to the already fun atmosphere. One last aspect that the Festival of Life lacked but We Are Asbury Park didn’t: dogs, dogs in rainbow gear everywhere loving everyone and everything.
Coverage by Daniella Heminghaus
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