The town of Morrisville celebrated their annual June ‘Pride in the Park,” event June 7. Much of the fanfare from the prior year, with local vendors, food stands, drag bingo and live music, stayed the same. Unfortunately – much to the dismay of some onlookers – another similarity mirrored the town’s 2024 event: a Beaufort-based anti-LGBTQ concrete company was allowed to return for the event, apparently approved by the town’s local governing body, which handles the annual celebration.
The concrete company, calling themselves First Amendment Concrete, had reportedly been a part of the vendors who bought tables at the event for at least the last two years, and possibly more.
Separated from the rest of the vendors present, with their tent placed at the entrance of the park, the three representatives present sat with nothing but two millstones crafted by the company, one painted with a rainbow and the other with the colors of the transgender flag. The stones themselves, as per a comment made to the region’s alt-weekly publication INDY, represent allusions of pedophilia and Babylon, symbolically linking the LGBTQ iconography to the concept of sin.
While the company representatives themselves had not reportedly gone out of their way to harass the festival-goers, their inclusion still upset those who noticed them and knew they were there as opposition to the town’s Pride event.
Some of the town’s residents and other vendors took action against the concrete company and protested their inclusion in the event. One such vendor, local transgender artist and community organizer Eli Cameron, had been supportive of the town’s push to have its own Pride event over the last few years, but for 2025 had decided to step away.
“I was accepted as a vendor this year, but I’ve stepped back from participating because I cannot risk further exposure to hate speech under the guise of “free speech” at a Pride celebration,” Cameron told INDY via email.
When the concrete company appeared at the event in 2024, there was dissent in response to a company not local to the area and its anti-LGBTQ+ message.
“I’m honestly really surprised that the issues with the Morrisville Pride in the Park event aren’t being discussed on a wider scale in the local LGBT or market communities,” Izzy Hall, a resident of Garner, wrote in a Facebook post about the event last year. “The fact that a city sponsored event that required a detailed application (and, I had thought, a selection and vetting process) allowed an organization whose mission is to make LGBT people uncomfortable (and maybe throw them in the ocean with millstones around their necks?) into a Pride event, as a vendor without an actual business, absolutely floors me.”
“Y’all know I’m not super smart about bible stuff so it’s not as triggering for me, but seeing how many distraught LGBT adults and youth there were in my booth who knew more about this messaging really broke my heart. Pride is supposed to be a safe place, and I hope someone decides to apologize.”
When questioned by Cameron and other residents of the area about the anti-LGBTQ company’s inclusion, a communications staffer representing the town of Morrisville gave a statement.
“The Town took appropriate steps to ensure that the event remained a safe and vibrant experience for everyone attending,” the statement reads. “After research, the Town Attorney advised us that, because this is a government-sponsored event held on public property, the Equal Protection Clause of both the state and federal Constitutions prohibited Morrisville from excluding vendors based on their opinions or religious beliefs.”
“Morrisville is an inclusive and diverse community where people of all backgrounds are welcome,” the statement continued. “In our Town, we do not condone hate speech or discrimination, and we strive to make our community a safe place for all.”
First Amendment Concrete Company’s poisonous plans were largely foiled by the aforementioned protestors, many of whom surrounded the booth with rainbow flags and umbrellas to obscure their anti-LGBTQ+ presentation from the view of festival-goers.
Interestingly enough, First Amendment Concrete’s appearance at the Morrisville Pride event may lead to the resolution of a previously reported and unsolved case of anti-LGBTQ+ harassment against a local business located in Beaufort.
A story that appeared in Qnotes dated March 8, 2023, references the appearance of a mysterious “millstone” with an anti-LGBTQ+ message extrapolated from biblical text. The poured concrete disc, decorated in rainbow colors, was left in front of an LGBTQ+ welcoming wine and coffee bar in Beaufort, which is also the home to First Amendment Concrete.
Owners of Cru Beer and Wine (which is still in business) said they felt threatened by the overnight appearance of the “millstone” and police were called in to investigate. CCT camera footage showed two men and a woman place the disc in front of the business between the street and a sidewalk, though the perpetrators were never identified.