Last week, the story of a family in Hudson made headlines when they were inspired to order hundreds of rainbow pride flags for their community after hearing about the burning of a neighbor’s flag.
That story then inspired other Ohioans to reach out to The Buckeye Flame, alerting us to the fact that the incident in Hudson was sadly not the only burning of a Pride flag in Ohio this past Pride Month.
One of those individuals was Monaca Cunningham, who lives with her wife in Hartville, a small village halfway between Akron and Canton in Northeast Ohio. Her Pride flag too was burned.
The Buckeye Flame spoke with Cunningham to hear about her experience and what she learned in the process. Click play directly below to listen to our chat or read our conversation underneath.
Before we get to what happened, why did you decide to fly a Pride flag in the first place?
It’s’s not just about me and my wife. It’s about our community and our youth growing up out here. It’s not as inclusive as we would all love. So if I could reach one kid walking by my house that knows, “Well, there’s a safe place for me,” then it’s all worth it.
And you had actually received some positive feedback in the mail about your Pride flag just the day before?
We did! A neighbor who I don’t even know mailed us a card and thanked us for having this Pride flag out. So it was a sense of unity. It’s this quiet unity, you know? So if we can amplify that a little bit by making others feel safe and comfortable in our community, then that’s what we’re here to try to do.
So you woke up one morning a few weeks back and went outside. What did you discover?
I went outside with my dogs as I do every morning and I came off my porch to find our Pride flag singed. It was completely gone and I was pretty gutted. I immediately yelled for my wife. She came outside and I said, “We need to call the cops right now.”
So that’s what we did. The Stark County sheriff came out and assessed everything. He was fantastic and we had a great conversation. He went across the street where have a little event center. He checked for cameras and apparently they have them, but they don’t work. So unfortunately whoever did it is still out there.
One of the distinctive features of Ohio law is that we don’t have LGBTQ+ hate crime legislation here. And indeed, something interesting was marked down on the sheriff’s report. Can you tell us more about that?
So I’ve learned something [with this incident]. I guess I just made the assumption that Ohio [recognized LGBTQ+] hate crimes.
That’s how our minds labeled [this incident]. And when I got the report, it turns out it’s called “ethnic intimidation.” We don’t have [LGBTQ+] hate crimes here in Ohio, so everything is kind of lumped under race, color, religion. It’s all under ethnic intimidation, and that’s the closest we will ever get to a hate crime.
So it’s been a week and some change since you went outside that morning and found your Pride flag burned. Where are you now?
I’m actually sitting on my front porch and I have a new Pride flag out. We’ve since put cameras up.
But in the week’s time, we had a ton of love and support from our friends here in our community. I had somebody give us money for a Pride flag and I’ve been gifted five new Pride flags.
And so many people have asked, “What can we do? What can we do to show our love to you?” And my answer simply is put out a flag, show that you’re an ally. That’s really all I can do. And if anybody needs one, I have one here.
Simply put out a flag to show that you support this community because we do exist.
Pride Month is over, Monaca. We are in July now. How important is it to you to keep flying your flag now?
Oh, they can burn it down again if they want. And I’ll just put another one back up. Just because Pride Month is only June, it’s every day for us. It’s every single day. You know, we live in a community that, while we would love it to be progressive, it struggles in that department.
What do you have to say to other LGBTQ+ Ohioans, particularly those who are in these smaller communities who may be experiencing some of that fear of not only flying a Pride flag, but maybe also even being out in these smaller communities. What’s your message to them?
It is scary. You know, I’ve lived here my whole entire life and I didn’t come out until I graduated and left. But being an older generation here in this community, I feel an obligation to show that we’re here and we’re here in solidarity. So even if it is scary, we still have to show that we exist and we support and love each other. 🔥
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