CP_MBHC_20230621_1_A01
ABBOT HALL
MAKING HISTORY
Select Board OKs pride sidewalk
IN THIS ISSUE
CROONER
MLT alum win Tony Award Page 11
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NONPROFIT ORG PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE
Local singer to perform with his big band
PAID
MARBLEHEAD, MA PERMIT NO. 25
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NEWS FOR PEOPLE, NOT FOR PROFIT.
TM
June 21, 2023
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VOLUME 1, ISSUE NO. 30
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MARBLEHEADCURRENT.ORG
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ON SOCIAL @MHDCURRENT
PRIDE OR PREJUDICE
Protest follows pride flag controversy BY LEIGH BLANDER More than 150 people stood in the rain for a peaceful protest across from Grace Community Church on Sunday morning, waving pride flags and handmade signs, singing gospel songs and calling for more tolerance in Marblehead. “As a gay woman, when discrimination raises its head in
a small town, people aren’t going to put up with it,” said Judy Geneen of Marblehead. “I live in Florida part of the year, and I thought I was coming home to a safe space here in Marblehead. For a church that preaches the bible, they need to go back and read it.” The protest was in response to two members of Grace Community Church removing
pride flags placed in flower boxes outside the building by Mike Richmond, who is gay and rents space in the church to run the Pleasant Street Preschool with his partner. Richmond approached the two church members asking why they were removing the flags. He recorded the interaction on his phone. “Why are you taking down the pride flags?” Richmond asked the
couple. “Because it’s a church that doesn’t celebrate… you can have your time… but we don’t want to celebrate if we don’t have to,” answered the woman. “We are a church that believes in the bible.” Richmond then asked, “What’s the message that you’re sending to the children?” The woman responded, “You
can celebrate who you are, but we don’t have to.” Richmond said he never discussed gay pride with his young students. “I see the pride flag as a symbol for peace, love and acceptance for all,” he said. When contacted for comment, Grace Community Church CHURCH, P. A5
NEW GRAD
WORLD WITH JUSTICE
Gilliland blazes new trail
Music, poetry, passion at Juneteenth celebration
Fire chief becomes first in town to receive bachelor’s of fire science degree BY CHRIS STEVENS
Several Marblehead students of color shared their visions of a “world with justice.”
BY LEIGH BLANDER Marblehead High School students of color shared their visions of a “world with justice” at the town’s third annual Juneteenth celebration and flag raising on June 14. More than 100 people gathered on the Abbot Hall lawn for the event. “A world with justice looks like being able to check social media
without seeing another article about a victim of police brutality,” said Kendal-Arielle Verdine-Ngole. “A world with justice sounds like no more mothers mourning for their Black sons. A world with justice is being able to walk down the street without being approached by a police officer who assumes you are up to no good.” Student Bernardo Bannis added,
CURRENT PHOTOS / NICOLE GOODUE-BOYD
When Salem State University seniors crossed the stage to collect their diplomas on May 20, there was a very familiar face in the crowd. Fire Chief Jason Gilliland accomplished something no other Marblehead fire chief has done when he earned a bachelor’s of fire science and administration that day. And it only took him 30-plus years to do it. “It was good to finally accomplish this,” Gilliland said. “I hate leaving things undone.” Gilliland started on the path to a bachelor’s degree in the late 1980s, taking night and summer classes while working as a firefighter. Then, as typically happens, life got in the way. GILLILAND, P. A4
“A world with justice is when we get pulled over by the police and we do not have to record for our own safety, from the people who are meant to protect us.” Shakayla Baxter said, “A world with justice gives everyone access to the services they deserve no matter what they look like or what their bank JUNETEENTH, P. A3
EDITOR’S NOTE The Marblehead Current’s June 21 edition went to print before the June 20 Marblehead municipal election results were available. For comprehensive coverage and updates on the election, visit the newspaper’s website, marbleheadcurrent.org.
MILESTONE
A birthday to remember BY ED BELL It is not often that I get the chance to wish a one-yearold “Happy Birthday.” As an octogenarian, our little ones are graduates now, either from high school or college. So here goes:
HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY MARBLEHEAD CURRENT. It was on June 16, 2022, that we launched our online news site that is the predecessor to the Marblehead Current. Six founders spent the bitter pandemic winter of 2022
meeting every Wednesday on Zoom and planning the steps that took us from concept to online and later a printed newspaper. Our local news site was rushed onto the internet just before the town elections
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BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW
because we knew there was a thirst for information about the candidates. The Marblehead Reporter, owned by the Virginiabased Gannett newspaper conglomerate, had abandoned local coverage and pulled its talented reporters out of the
community. Founder and consulting editor Kris Olson burned the midnight oil to get the news site up and running while our founding writers Will Dowd and Leigh BIRTHDAY, P. A4
We're building an independent, nonprofit news source that stands the test of time. But we can't do it without you. To ensure another year of the Current, please donate today. Use the donation envelope found in today's paper or visit our website.