Queer Newark

03/26/2026

We look forward to seeing you today at TDOV 2026: Glow Up & Show Up! 💖

Reshare

Join the Intercultural Resource Center, Project TEA, Garden State Equality, and the Newark LGBTQ Community Center for an evening of gender-affirmation. Browse our clothing swap, grab mini toiletries and makeup (while supplies last), visit community organizations tabling, and get a FREE gender-affirming haircut (first come, first serve)!

🗓️ Thursday, March 26
🕝 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm
📍 Paul Robeson Campus Center - Essex Room
🗺️ 350 MLK Jr. Blvd, Newark, NJ

01/27/2026

New Date! On February 24 at 6:30pm, join the American LGBTQ+ Museum’s Lavender Literary Society Book Club at Project for Empty Space for a lively discussion with Whitney Strub and Marina Carreira.

They will explore how Q***r Newark: Stories of Resistance, Love, and Community preserves overlooked histories, honors local voices, and deepens our understanding of Newark as a crucial center of q***r life—past, present, and future.

Register at bit.ly/jan2026bookclub

01/20/2026

Next Tuesday! Join the American LGBTQ+ Museum’s Lavender Literary Society Book Club at Project for Empty Space for a lively discussion with Whitney Strub and Marina Carreira.

They will explore how Q***r Newark: Stories of Resistance, Love, and Community preserves overlooked histories, honors local voices, and deepens our understanding of Newark as a crucial center of q***r life—past, present, and future.

Register at bit.ly/jan2026bookclub

11/13/2025

On November 19, the Newark LGBTQ Film Festival and Express Newark Community Media center will present “A Deeper Love” The story of Miss Peppermint,” a documentary by Oriel Pe’er.

Date: November 19, 2025
Time: 6:30pm
Location: 54 Halsey st, Newark NJ
Suggested Donation: $15 GA and $7 students and seniors.

To purchase tickets click on link in bio or type this link into your browser: http://zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/deeper-love

09/16/2025

Join us on October 7th at 4:30p at the Dana Room, 4th floor of John Cotton Dana Library for this timely conversation. Registration required. go.rutgers.edu/contestedcurriculum

Historian Don Romesburg, a lead scholar implementing California’s FAIR Education Act, will discuss the long journey to bring LGBTQ-inclusive history education to the nation’s K-12 schools. Right now, exploring this past in order to chart a path forward is more vital than ever.

In this moment of systematic erasure of q***r and trans histories and public lives, when even the Supreme Court has restricted inclusive curriculum, Dr. Romesburg will provide strategies to make education more relevant and dynamic for all students and families. Romesburg, Visiting Professor of History and Women’s, Gender, and Q***r Studies at California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, is the author of Contested Curriculum: LGBTQ History Goes to School (Rutgers UP, 2025) and editor of the Routledge History of Q***r America (2018).

Books will be available for purchase.

07/11/2025

Tonight! is hosting their 4th Annual Legacy Ball. The Ball is an amazing event of love, creativity, and resilience. This year’s theme is HOUSE WARS!

Cheer on your favorite house as members slay the custom-built runway in the Prudential Hall Lobby.

Free and open to all. 🏳️‍🌈

07/11/2025

The Parade and Festival is this Sunday, July 13 from 12pm to 6pm!

March in or watch the Newark Pride Parade with line up beginning at 11am! You can sign up to join the Newark LGBTQ Community Center’s float by visiting their page (space permitting).

Parade starts at Lincoln Park & Broad Street and ends at Mulberry Commons behind Prudential Center.

Then, stop by the Festival at Mulberry Commons from 1pm to 6pm and check out the IRC and the other wonderful organizations tabling!

Follow for latest festival information.

Happy Newark Pride! 🌈

07/11/2025

Congratulations Gary Paul Wright!! 💜🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Honoring 20 Years of Pride. 25+ Years of Legacy. 🌟

As we celebrate two decades of visibility, resilience, and q***r liberation at the 20th Annual Newark Pride Parade, we are beyond honored to welcome Gary Paul Wright as our 2025 Grand Marshal!

For over 25 years, Gary has been a steadfast champion for the LGBTQIA+ community in Newark and beyond. In 2000—amid the height of the HIV/AIDS pandemic—Gary founded the African American Office of Gay Concerns (AAOGC), a revolutionary space created to provide HIV prevention services with a sharp focus on Black q***r and trans youth. His work has saved lives, educated generations, and created a blueprint for compassionate, culturally grounded public health advocacy.

In 2009, Gary was appointed by then-Mayor Cory Booker to serve on Newark’s LGBTQ Advisory Commission. He was later appointed to the Essex County LGBTQ Advisory Council by County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo, where he continues to serve and speak truth to power. A longtime leader in HIV advocacy, Gary served two impactful terms as Chairperson of the New Jersey HIV Prevention Group (NJHPG)—always ensuring our voices were heard at the highest levels of policy and care.

Gary is not just a leader—he’s a legacy.
He and his husband, Peter Oates, have been together for 35 years, marrying on World AIDS Day, December 1, 2013—a powerful moment of love, justice, and joy as same-sex marriage became legal in New Jersey. Together with their beloved fur-baby, Eleanora, they continue to embody what it means to build a life rooted in purpose and pride.

This Sunday, July 13th, Gary Paul Wright leads us into the heart of Newark Pride Festival 2025 with wisdom, warmth, and the unwavering belief that our community deserves health, dignity, and celebration.

Join us in showing up for a true icon—march alongside Gary Paul Wright as we reclaim our time and walk boldly into our future! CONGRATULATIONS GARY! 💙

***rExcellence

06/04/2025

A call to gather in community and honor the memory of Sam Nordquist (2000-2025). Music, readings, and a feast open to all.

Tuesday, June 17th 7:30PM
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church
440 Hoboken Avenue
Jersey City, NJ 07306