The day was hot and spirits were high on Wednesday afternoon, when county officials and Milwaukee County Transit System employees gathered to celebrate the start of Pride Month.
The star of the show was the Pride bus, parked off Cathedral Square. People in bright outfits took selfies with the new bus, which is decked out in splashes of rainbow color. A message in cursive dances across the top: The bus is for all of us.
County Supervisor Peter Burgelis, the first out member on the board, called it “a 40-foot-long statement to residents that all people are welcome in Milwaukee County.”
Pride Month is June, marking the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall uprising in New York. The event sparked the modern movement for gay rights. Burgelis suggests spending time this month with a piece of Milwaukee’s own queer history, in an exhibit at the county courthouse rotunda.
“Thanks to the Wisconsin LGBTQ history project, there you’ll learn about Josie Carter and other trans women of color who were fed up and fought back at Milwaukee’s Black Nite tavern in 1961,” he said. “That was eight years before New York City’s Stonewall uprising.”
Speaking at the event, Marcelia Nicholson, chairwoman of the county board of supervisors, said Pride Month isn’t just a celebration, but also a time for reflection and action.
“We pledge to advocate for policies that promote inclusivity, fight against discrimination and ensure that every resident feels safe, supported, and celebrated,” she said. “Let us remember that Pride Month is not confined to a single month. It is a continuous call to action, a reminder that our work towards a more equitable and just society does not end when the rainbow flags are furled.”
I meet Brianne Mueller at the only quiet spot we can find: inside the bus. As creative lead for MCTS, she designed the city’s first Pride bus in 2021 and now, the 2023 edition, which will roll down Milwaukee streets for the next year. It’s an unusual medium for any artist, with vents and windows to work around.
“The way that the panels line up, it’s gotta be — it’s math to make it all line up,” Mueller joked.
The 2023 design was the favorite of four that the graphic artist came up with, presenting them to MCTS employees for a vote. Mueller, who identifies as part of the queer community, said after tinkering with the wrap design on a computer for so long, seeing the bus in person — and offering something to the community — is overwhelming.
“There’s so many anti-trans laws going out there, there's so much bullying and hate right now,” she said. “It’s great to have something that pulls the community together. If people are not feeling like they are welcome, they know that they are welcome on the bus and everybody is safe on the bus.”
After the ribbon-cutting, the Pride bus is officially open for business, to anyone.
