On Tuesday, June 16, Chuck McIntyre hosted his first ever “Raising Rainbow Awareness” presentation at the Mattapoisett Free Public Library’s community room. The presentation, which was held in observance of Pride Month, discussed gender and sexual identity, along with LGBTQ+ history and positive community engagement.
McIntyre, a life-long Mattapoisett resident, said he was motivated to host the presentation after noticing a lack of LGBTQ+ events in Mattapoisett, and so that residents could be more educated on the LGBTQ+ community. He added that he hopes Mattapoisett will hold larger-scale LGBTQ+ events in the future such as celebrations or memorials for victims of hate
crimes.
McIntyre said his goal was to inspire attendees to learn more and to engage with LGBTQ+ events, so they can better understand those in the LGBTQ+ community. He said that he hopes the presentation was able to, “challenge their own views [and] to expand their horizons in case they have someone come out to them.”
The presentation was recorded by Alyssa Perry, Old Rochester Community TV’s (ORCTV) government coordinator, and can currently be viewed on ORCTV’s Vimeo page at
vimeo.com/orctvcommunity.
By Zakary Sarkarati