Last June, a rainbow flag was hoisted above Newark, NJ’s City Hall, thanks in part to the efforts of Newark-Essex Pride founder June Dowell-Burton. For a conservative city more famous for its murder rate than its acceptance of LGBT residents, this was a huge step. After years of fighting her own personal battles—coming out, divorcing her husband and then losing custody of her now 17-year-old son—Dowell-Burton, then a student at Rutgers, found her stride in Newark, where she developed her week-long event in 2004. She recalls the words of one of her professors: “She asked me a simple question: ‘Hey, do you want to lead?’” Apparently the answer was yes. –LL

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