Durham's Pride Night celebrates baseball for all

It's time to take Pride in the Minor Leagues.

Pride Month will begin Thursday with Triple-A Durham's second annual Pride Night, kicking off the run of Pride-related promotions throughout the Minor Leagues.

Durham Bulls Athletic Park will be decked out with a rainbow flag in center field and other special Pride décor for the night.

“This is an important thing for us to be community leaders and to make sure that we have an inclusive environment here at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, not only for the Durham Bulls, but also for all of baseball,” said Bulls general manager Tyler Parsons.

Inclusivity is the primary focus for the Rays affiliate, whose website describes Pride Night at the ballpark as “A place where everyone is welcome.” The club is doing its best to make that a reality.

The night will open with a special rendition of the national anthem sung by the Triangle Gay Men’s Chorus. The group hails from Raleigh, N.C., and operates with the mission of “fostering a safe place and providing an avenue for LGBTQ+ persons and their allies to develop and display their musical talents.”

In addition to the anthem, the special evening will honor the LGBTQ+ communities by hosting six different organizations, all of which will have booths set up during the game. They include Equality North Carolina, Rainbow Collective for Change, National Institute of Environmental Health, Human Rights Campaign, Durham Queer Sports and LGBTQ Center for Durham.

Equality North Carolina will receive a portion of the proceeds from each ticket purchased for the game. The organization, founded in 1979, is America’s oldest state-wide organization dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights.

Four days after Durham’s Pride Night, Hartford hosts its Pride Night on June 5. The Rockies' Double-A affiliate will give away jerseys to the first 1,000 kids at Dunkin' Park. The two nights will truly begin a Pride-filled month of June around the Minors.