Pride & Pressure: Inside Raleigh’s LGBTQ+ Community

In a region where transgender rights remain under pressure, Raleigh continues carving out spaces for visibility, safety and belonging.

Every June, Raleigh turns up the volume and takes to the streets in full rainbow-colored force. It’s Pride Month—and in Oak City, it shows up loud. 

No matter where you came from, how you identify or who you love, Raleigh Pride offers a chance to support the LGBTQ+ community and join the celebration—whether you’re there to educate yourself, rally behind a cause or just drop it low on the dance floor.

The monthlong fete spans a slew of diverse events across Raleigh—from drag performances and karaoke nights to runs, bar crawls, markets and, of course, Out! Raleigh Pride, now in its 14th year—hosted by myriad local businesses and organizations. Restaurants and bars get in on the action as well, with rainbow-colored dishes and drinks, locally made merch, and Pride-themed specials popping up across the city.

“In the last decade, the event has become an integral part of Raleigh’s Downtown culture, promoting diversity, awareness and a sense of belonging for the LGBTQIA+ community,” says Kori Hennessey, executive director of the LGBT Center of Raleigh. “Each year has been more successful than the last.”

This year also marks a major organizational shift, with Raleigh Pride folding into the LGBT Center after years of operating as separate nonprofits working in tandem.

More than just a fun celebration, Pride Month is also a way to give back—raising crucial funds for local nonprofits like the LGBT Center, Crape Myrtle Festival and the NC AIDS Alliance. Last year alone, tens of thousands of people—of all ages, races and genders—packed out Fayetteville Street for Out! Raleigh Pride. 

But beneath the glitter, dance parties and rainbow cocktails is something deeper: ongoing conversations around identity, acceptance and visibility—especially as LGBTQ+ rights continue to face political and cultural scrutiny nationwide. Because nothing good comes from silence—and Raleigh has never been afraid of being loud and proud.

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Living Out Loud

As political tensions rise around transgender rights, Raleigh’s LGBTQ+ community continues to fight for visibility, safety and belonging in the South.

“Being trans has been one of the great challenges of my life,” says Raleigh-raised Euphoria star, model and transgender rights activist Hunter Schafer. “It sucks I had to deal with it so young and I live in a world that’s constantly fighting me on it—and I’m still dealing with the ramifications today. But at the same time, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Hunter, who transitioned in high school while still living in North Carolina, is one of many people who has had to navigate gender identity in a world still grappling with understanding and acceptance of the queer community. And for many trans people, that tension has only intensified amid recent political battles and legislation targeting the community.

“When Hunter was transitioning in 2014, a large percentage of the population hardly knew anything about trans people or trans issues,” Hunter’s father, Mac Schafer, told Raleigh Magazine. “Real acceptance is seeing that trans people make the fabric of humanity better.”

But visibility hasn’t necessarily translated to acceptance. Today, more than 2.8 million Americans aged 13 and older identify as transgender, according to 2025 estimates—yet many basic transgender civil rights remain fiercely debated politically and culturally, even decades after watershed moments like Compton’s Cafeteria riot of 1966 and the Stonewall uprising of 1969.

The stakes are higher in the South, where LGBTQ+ rights battles have often played out more publicly—and more politically. “I hated North Carolina,” Hunter added in a candid October 2024 episode of Call Her Daddy. “Growing up there, being queer in the South—it’s not easy.”

According to LGBT Center of Raleigh Executive Director Kori Hennessey, some of the biggest barriers today include safe, affirming schooling for youths, health care, housing options, shelters and employment. It’s a vicious cycle: You lose your job solely based on discrimination, and you can no longer afford your home—let alone health care.

“I think we kind of live in a bubble,” adds Hennessey. “North Carolina is arguably a complicated place to live for being LGBTQ.”

For many North Carolinians, that tension isn’t hypothetical—it’s tied to a political history the state is still reckoning with. Case in point: the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act (aka HB2 or the “bathroom bill”), a highly controversial 2016 law that required people to use public restrooms that corresponded to the sex on their birth certificate.

Though it was repealed in 2017 and fully phased out by 2020, the state—and Raleigh—faced real consequences, drawing widespread backlash and losing economic investments, concerts and events, including the NBA All-Star game.

But debates surrounding transgender rights in North Carolina never fully went away. In March 2025, state Republicans introduced a similar bill to HB2 dubbed the Women’s Safety and Protection Act, which—in addition to requiring individuals to use public restrooms corresponding to their birth gender—would also restrict changing gender markers on licenses and birth certificates. As of press time, the bill has yet to move forward.

“There was a period of time when there was positive movement, education, learning, sensitivity and awareness in Raleigh,” says Mac, who served as the longtime pastor at Raleigh’s Hudson Memorial Presbyterian Church—and is now based in Pennsylvania. “Sadly, in our present political environment, I feel we’re going backward.”

According to Hennessey, political and cultural pressures are already affecting how the LGBTQ+ community moves through daily life. While Raleigh generally feels more open and accepting than many parts of the state, they say, “folks still deal with certain levels of discrimination in the school system, working life, etc. Especially for trans folks, there definitely has been an uptick in people experiencing getting misgendered or having folks yell slurs at them. There are many who’ve been afraid to be out in public outside of the things they have to do.”

In turn, Hennessey says they’ve seen increased foot traffic at the LGBT Center, which recently moved to a new location Downtown—where it’s now able to bring its 20+ programs to the local LGBTQ+ community in a physical space for the first time since 2020.

“When a lot of things started coming down the pipeline and more public opinions were changing at a federal level, folks were just looking for a space to be able to process what was going on and not feel like they’re alone in this,” reflects Hennessey, noting people have even made the trek to the center from out of town just for that sense of community and belonging. “People have really appreciated having a space where they can metaphorically take the mask off and be themselves.”

Even amid the tensions, Raleigh has made visible strides. “I’ve now come to love [NC] because I can return there and know that I’m fierce and I don’t feel like a nuisance for existing,” said Hunter. That evolution is part of why many LGBTQ+ residents now see Raleigh as one of the more welcoming—and safer—places to be in the South, says Hennessey, though they hope the next few years bring a stronger collective push toward education and voter engagement.

“I appreciate that there’s representation within city departments and other spaces where people are able to have influence,” emphasizes Hennessey of Raleigh’s current state. “That’s a positive. And just the fact that we’re still able to do Pride… that gives me a little bit more hope.”

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Stepping Up Support

Ways to show up for Raleigh’s LGBTQ+ community beyond Pride Month

Supporting Raleigh’s LGBTQ+ community doesn’t stop when Pride Month ends. “First and foremost, what needs to happen is just people coming together more,” says Hennessey. “There needs to be more organization and more solidarity among different parts of the community.”

They point to local orgs and businesses that regularly host events, fundraisers and volunteer opportunities that create safe spaces for people to be present, connect, learn—and grow. Even staying informed and having conversations about trans rights makes a difference. “We need as many people as we can to continue pushing for our rights and equity among us all,” adds Hennessey. “Listening to the needs of the community and showing up is more powerful than a lot of people recognize.”