Northwest Arkansas Equality and the Arkansas Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence hosted Fayetteville’s 12th annual Rainbow Thanksgiving on Sunday at the Fayetteville Town Center for over 300 LGBTQ+ people to celebrate the holiday in a safe space.
NWA Equality and the Arkansas Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence collaborated with Cocoon Collective, Free Mom Hugs, NWA Girl Gang, The Equality Crew and Queer Camp. The event was sponsored by Tyson Foods, Kellanova, the Cockpit Cafe, Leverett Lounge, Ozark Natural Foods and Whole Foods, according to the NWA Equality Instagram.
People stood in a line that curved around half the room and waited for the traditional Thanksgiving food. Chelsea Miller, NWA Equality board member, said the event’s goal was to offer a free meal and welcoming area for people during the holiday season.
“It’s a common experience in a queer community to not feel like you can be fully yourself when you’re at family gatherings,” Miller said. “And so our intention with this space was to really create somewhere where everyone could be who they are and in the fullest expression of themselves.”
While some people attended Rainbow Thanksgiving for safety and comfort, others like Andy Schafer wanted to meet new people as life can sometimes feel isolating.
Schafer, who grew up in Fayetteville, expressed gratitude for having an event like Rainbow Thanksgiving because it did not exist 15 to 20 years ago. Schafer celebrates Thanksgiving with family and a best friend. Because of this, Schafer shared appreciation for these connections, acknowledging that other people do not have positive experiences with their families.
Jess Claire, the Equality Crew board president who uses she/they pronouns, provided crafts to the attendees’ children. Near the tables was a rainbow tree called the “Tree of Hope,” where people could write what they were hopeful for on paper ornaments. In previous years, this tree was called the “Tree of Gratitude,” but the 2024 presidential election prompted this change.
“A lot of people right now are feeling like there’s not a lot to be grateful for,” Claire said, “and so I think that that’s really the core purpose of this event, is to bring people together and recultivate that sense of hope that is present and does exist, and we do deserve it as well.”
Claire said while she is thankful to have an LGBTQ-accepting family, she understands many people feel unable to show the parts of themselves that they fear their family will not accept. Because of this, people often feel they need to pretend to be someone different at family gatherings, they said.
“If someone is adamantly against your rights as a human being,” Claire said, “or, for example, your father doesn’t think you should love who you want to love, that can definitely prompt people to not want to go to their Thanksgiving this year, specifically because there’s so many heightened issues.”
In June 2024, the Out Leadership State LGBTQ+ Business Climate Index ranked the U.S. states based on how state citizens treat the LGBTQ+ community, where Arkansas ranked last, according to USA Today.
Even though Arkansas is ranked the least welcoming, according to the article, people like Jesse Buchanan, a Cocoon Collective board member who uses any pronouns, said they have confidence in the queer community.
While Buchanan said people have fear that anti-LGBTQ+ people have won elections, queer people have existed throughout all of human history. While he said he anticipates challenges for the LGBTQ+ community, the people are resilient.
“I think a lot of people assume that this state is not a place where queer people feel at home,” Buchanan said. “I think this event is a big demonstration that home is a place that we go for each other, for ourselves. And in a state like ours, it is important when we have communities like this that come together regularly and are able to take care of each other and want space for one another.”
Like many people in the LGBTQ+ community, Buchanan said that some of their family relationships are complicated, but they are learning what a healthy relationship with them looks like because they value spending time with their loved ones.
“If you want to spend time with your family,” Claire said, “and you feel like that’s important to you and meaningful to you and you’re willing to set parts of yourself aside, that’s your right to do that, and you should get to do that. But also know that you don’t have to, and you shouldn’t have to, and you deserve better.”
