Pride in Wake Forest

Wake Forest, North Carolina, is a vibrant town that boasts a rich history, stunning urban and natural landscapes, and expanding opportunities. It is also the home of the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. In October 2024, the town held its first-ever Pride event.

I recently sat down with Town Commissioner Ben Clapsaddle to discuss the logistics and execution of the inaugural Wake Forest Pride. We covered topics such as equity, diversity, safety, local government and the words of Jesus in red. The following has been edited for space and clarity. 

Erin Parks: What’s the background and dynamics between the town of Wake Forest and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS)?

Ben Clapsaddle: So, which came first, the chicken or the egg? The big thing about the history of the town of Wake Forest is that it was where the North-South train stopped in the late 1800s. So, Wake Forest University, founded by Baptists, took advantage of the railroad, attracting more students to attend and enabling its sports teams to compete in conference games.

This allowed the town to keep growing. As industry arrived, the town and the university developed a symbiotic relationship.

The most significant partner in town was the university. All the restaurants, theaters and boarding houses were geared towards the students. When the university relocated to Winston-Salem in 1956, the Southern Baptist Convention bought the campus [for a theological seminary, which became SEBTS.]

The city and SEBTS have been neighbors, not necessarily adversaries. The seminary, through its mission, has had a profound influence, shaping the way the town of Wake Forest is run.

The seminary is a good neighbor. They want to get involved in various things, and they can do so through the political process. In my 18 months as a commissioner, we have had several instances of great communication.

That has been positive, and there’s so much we can do to help each other.

EP: How would you describe the political diversity of Wake Forest? Is it still very conservative or more purple (politically diverse) now?

BC: I don’t know if I would call it purple yet. It’s hard to describe. Our Board of Commissioners is non-partisan; however, if you examine their party affiliations, two are Republicans and three are Democrats. This is the first time in over a decade that we’ve had a majority of Democrats.

Now, I don’t think it’s changed anything drastically because all of us are focused on doing what is best for the town. There is some clash of thought, particularly between the idea of the “good ole days” and the growth the town is experiencing.

One recent example is allowing alcohol to be sold at the Friday Nights on White events, because Wake Forest used to be a dry town. 

EP: I guess that’s why I was so curious that it took until 2024 for Wake Forest to have a Pride event, because the town is great at putting on community events.

BC: In 2024, I made a motion that was approved for Wake Forest to join the county’s agreement to enforce the Wake County nondiscrimination ordinance within town limits. We were one of the last jurisdictions that chose not to join.

One of the key aspects was that the ordinance provided protections for individuals with National Guard or veteran status. It also protected religious belief or nonbelief. What we are trying to protect is the growth of our society, and we want everybody to feel welcome.

EP: Who supported this event?

BC: It was put together by the Wake Forest Pride group, which is an integral part of our community. They clean roads, not only the roads they adopted but also lots of the historical areas. They raise money for different organizations.

They chose to hold the Pride event in October, which I think was a wonderful choice. There are pride events every weekend and every day all across the state and nation in June. They looked at us and planned a family-friendly event during a good time of year when the weather is better. It’s a family festival. For all the anger and vitriol that was pointed at them, I would say that people needed just to come and walk and look.

(Note: The Wake Forest Pride event was categorized as a “community event” rather than a “town event.” For community events, stakeholders can pitch an idea to the town council, which can be voted against for reasons that it violates town policies or other local, state or federal laws.) 

EP: What was the reaction from SEBTS?

BC: They didn’t throw down the gauntlet. As a community member and partner, they expressed their preference for us not to hold the event. But Wake Forest Pride went through the entire policy process. It could have been voted to be taken away, but it wasn’t.

EP: How did the event go? Was there backlash?

BC: The event was really neat. It wasn’t out of place, but fit right in with the spirit of the town, and that’s awesome. If there was an issue with people, most of them were not from Wake Forest. And even then, it was their right to express [their disagreement], which was probably more disturbing for some of the younger people.

Overall, the message the [protestors] sent was not overly disruptive. Not that it doesn’t happen in other towns. But I’m just saying that Wake Forest Pride is a part of our town. They’re business owners in our town. Their kids go to high school and so forth. 

If it weren’t for the protesters standing and yelling at the top of their lungs and telling people that they were headed to hell, then most people wouldn’t have realized it was a Pride event.

EP: People like to argue different points in the Bible, and sometimes they miss the big point of loving God and loving each other. How would you help parents, especially since there are many religious individuals in this town, who are unsure whether they should take their children to a Pride event? How would you help them navigate that?

BC: Yeah, every parent has to raise their kids the way they feel is right. Parents have to be responsible for what they bring or expose their child to. I don’t think that anybody has to worry about anything that happened at our Pride festival. Again, if you’re not comfortable going to any public event, then you’re not gonna go to the Wake Forest Pride event.

The event was family-friendly on purpose. But part of being a parent is that your kids are gonna run into things, and you have to explain it to them later and find a way to help them understand, no matter where you go. Also, at every event that Wake Forest hosts, there will always be a presence from our police officers. It gives you comfort and a sense of safety.

EP: For some people, it is very hard to get past accepting gay folks because of the way they read their Bibles.

BC: Yeah, I got a very, very professional letter from the president of SEBTS, where he gave his rationale for why they didn’t believe in the event. And, it was fine. But, you know, again, it goes back to how I’m trying to balance things and what guides me.

I do have some firm beliefs on things, but what I hear people talk about [the Bible], I’m just old-school enough to let the words in red to guide me. We’re told to love our neighbor. And I interpret it as that I have to treat others just as I would my own family, and that I should respect everybody.