WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A celebration took place at the COX Science Center in West Palm Beach on Saturday.
"Of course everybody is bedazzled and sparkly and electric," said Sean Conklin with the Human Rights Council.
This as the Compass Community Center hosted it's Stonewall Ball event bringing together LGBTQ+ members and their allies.
"When people come together and love each other like this it creates hope," said Tina Louise Slater who attended the event. "Being around the people that I feel are like me and everybody expressing themselves like our outfits and every being themselves and celebrating that and the diversity and everybody's different ways of being themselves."
The event celebrates their Stonewall Ball's 20 years of advocating pride within the community.
"It's a huge staple for us, this represents the movement. The name in itself, Stonewall Ball, represents the Stonewall riots that happened in 1969 and that anniversary means a lot," said Julia Murphy with the Compass Center.
The ball comes a day after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, leaving people to worry if LGBTQ+ rights may be next.
"The reality is that equality marriage could be taken away and it's rights that this community has earned and fought for a long time. There's a lot of fear around that," said Murphy.
"I've spent the last couple of days being really sad and scared and afraid and being here is actually really up lifting," said Slater.
The goal of the Stonewall Ball is to promote an inclusive future for the community by working alongside elected officials, organizations, and advocates.
"We have a large coalition of people who are going to be able to come together to be sure that we can do whatever we can locally to protect our community from any of those attacks that may come," said Conklin.
The Compass Center has been in the community for 34 years and said their efforts have only grown stronger as Palm Beach County grows more inclusive.
"We're here and we're going to continue, we're going to continue youth services, family services, elderly services, we are not going anywhere, and our community will support those efforts," said Murphy.
Attendees said it's now more important than ever to support advocates at a local, state and national level that can help the LGBTQ+ community fight for it's rights.
