'We will not be silent:' Drag Queen Story Hour returns to Apex Pride as Equality NC steps in

Some people accused Gilbert of allowing a "vocal minority," who are unlikely to attend Pride regardless, of dictating how the LGBTQIA+ community should celebrate Pride.

"Equality NC is proud to announce that our organization will sponsor The Apex Pride Festival," Equality NC said in a statement. "We are also celebrating that this will restore Drag Story Hour to the program, and ensure that our community members in Apex have every right to gather and celebrate."

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Johnson wrote in a statement that Pride is first and foremost about the LGBTQIA+ community -- their collective voices, stories, resilience and hopes.

"What we saw in Apex was an attempt to invade our spaces, to silence us, to disperse us, and limit our freedom to be ourselves in our community," she wrote.

Johnson and other commenters accused Gilbert of allowing "misinformed" and "non-inclusive" complaints from people who are not part of the LGBTQIA+ community to out weigh the voices of the people who Pride celebrates.

"It’s disappointing that the very vocal minority of non-inclusive folks feel so threatened by something they don’t even understand that they, in turn, threaten their neighbors and fellow Apex residents. Those being so vocal weren’t even going to attend the event anyway!" said one comment on Gilbert's page.

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Johnson echoed these concerns.

"We were extremely disappointed in the actions of the Apex Festival Commission that allow provocative and misinformed complaints to target and attempt to cancel this Pride event," she wrote in her statement.

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Given the history of being silenced and forced to hide, Johnson pointed out how important it is for local leaders to make space for LGBTQIA+ voices, especially surrounding a Pride event.

In their statement, Drag Queen Story Hour said, "Our goal has been -- and always will be -- to share stories with all children in the Triangle that fuel their imaginations and inspire them to be their authentic selves."

"We will not be silent and we will not be forced back into a closet," she wrote. "We look forward to celebrating with our community this weekend, and to honor the long history of Pride as Protest, making space for us, about us, even when they try to silence us."

The Apex Pride Festival will take place from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, June 11.