“I don’t even think they realized what type of infrastructure they were building,” Ruffin said. “But they were really building the groundwork for an important space that is integral to the wellbeing, the happiness, the joy and the authenticity of an entire queer community in the state of Tennessee.

It is one of the biggest community events that takes place in Nashville, the Nashville Pride Festival & Parade is kicking off in just one month! We brought in the organizers to give us a sneak peek! For more information, please visit nashvillepride.org.

"We continue to work directly with a private security company and a number of city, state, and federal entities to advise and implement safety measures around the Nashville Pride Festival and Parade," Ruffin said in an email. "We look forward to creating a safe and secure space for the LGBTQ+ community to be authentically and vulnerably themselves this weekend at the Nashville Pride Parade and Festival."

Members of the LGBTQ+ community have rallied and spoken out about the legislation passed in the volunteer state. Not only the one banning drag performances in public spaces but also a law targeting trans youth healthcare.

From the contributions of pioneers like Charley Pride and Rhiannon Giddens to the influence of musicians such as Lead Belly and the Mississippi Sheiks, Black artists–and Black culture– have shaped country music through vulnerable creativity, powerful storytelling, and cultural legacy.

“I tried really hard to stay in state of Mississippi,” said Brady Ruffin, a panelist from Clinton who is moving to Little Rock to pursue a master’s degree. “I really looked at things to do, jobs to apply for. After looking through my options I realized there aren’t that many. … I’m not going too far, but I am leaving the state, and I think it’s a result of a lack of opportunities.”

“The way that the bill and the legislation were written was so vague and so ambiguous, that it is really, really hard to decipher,” said Brady Ruffin, a member of the executive council of the board of directors for Nashville Pride.

Ruffin made clear: Nashville Pride will still go on. But organizers of the event are proceeding with caution knowing there’s a chance they may have to make adjustments to comply with the law.

What they're saying: "[T]hey were really building the groundwork for an important space that is integral to the wellbeing, the happiness, the joy and the authenticity of an entire queer community in the state of Tennessee," Brady Ruffin, a Pride board member, told the Tennessean.

Ruffin explained that safety measures for this weekend include the festival portion of the weekend being in a fenced area, bags being checked at entrances, and security being present. Firearms and other weapons are also banned. Other measures are confidential for optimal safety.

“We announced it on Thursday at 12:15, we released a video on social media and everyone seemed really excited,” said Brady Ruffin, co-director of special events.

“This year, we are extremely excited to collaborate with the Double Decker Arts Festival as the stage and headliner music sponsor,” said SAA Executive Director Brady Ruffin said earlier this month at Double Decker press conference at Visit Oxford. “With this opportunity, we are showcasing our strong connection with Oxford and Visit Oxford, as well as our strong commitment to providing quality entertainment to all Ole Miss students.”

“This year, we are extremely excited to collaborate with Double Decker Arts Festival as a stage and headliner music sponsor. With this opportunity, we are showcasing our strong connection with the City of Oxford and Visit Oxford, as well as our strong commitment to providing quality entertainment to all Ole Miss students,” Ruffin said. “We would like to invite all University of Mississippi students to meet us a Double Decker and participate in one of the best weekend Ole Miss and Oxford has to offer.”

“This year, we are extremely excited to collaborate with the Double Decker Arts Festival as the stage and headliner music sponsor,” said SAA Executive Director Brady Ruffin said earlier this month at Double Decker press conference at Visit Oxford. “With this opportunity, we are showcasing our strong connection with Oxford and Visit Oxford, as well as our strong commitment to providing quality entertainment to all Ole Miss students.”

“When it came to the day of we really wanted to keep the safety of our students and artists in mind,” Ruffin said. “While this decision wasn’t an easy one, the safety of the students and artists was of the utmost importance.”

“The SAA provides free events for students,” Ruffin said. “If we were to hold the concert inside or at another venue we would have had to charge students. There was no place on campus that could hold the amount of people we were expecting for free.”

“The SAA is always planning events for students,” Ruffin said. “In regards to the concert, we are currently assessing our options.”

“The goal of the program will be to introduce an initial cohort of students from around the state to the entrepreneurial spirit of community development,” said Brady Ruffin, a senior marketing communications major and executive director of the university’s Students Activities Association. “To do this, the group of students will interact with community leaders throughout Oxford and Lafayette County, while also being exposed to readings and lectures from professors, community leaders and students.”

Now, as Nashville Pride celebrates its 36th year being out and proud in the heart of Music City, Brady Ruffin, a board member at Nashville Pride, said if he could tell the original organizers and participants anything, it would be an emphatic thank you.

Nashville's LGBTQ+ Pride festival this weekend will feature a parade, dancing and other familiar staples.

"LGBTQ folks need that sense of community," Nashville Pride board member Brady Ruffin tells Axios. "But we also need to have a space where we can unite and organize together in opposition against this hate."

"Be loud, be proud, be you," Brady Ruffin, Nashville Pride media coordinator told The Tennessean.

“Everything that Nashville Pride does is centered around the community: what the community needs, how the community celebrates, and who the community wants to see,” says Brady Ruffin, Secretary of the Nashville Pride Board of Directors.

"I can genuinely say I've never had chills on a 90-degree day in my life," said Nashville Pride board member Brady Ruffin. "Seeing so many people spreading love, especially this year with everything going on in Tennessee, was amazing. You'd never know there was a hateful piece of legislation in the state based on what we saw today.

Brady Ruffin, a member of the Nashville Pride Board of Directors, wrote in a statement to Newsweek that the organization is thankful for law enforcement's "proactive efforts and response" and that "no credible threat existed or currently exists to the Nashville Pride Parade & Festival."