Calhoun student shines at Pridefest

When Brianna McDonough, 16, of Merrick, came out as gay at 13, “it really wasn’t that big of a deal honestly,” she said. “I told people because I figured it out.”

However, her mother, Dayann, said that it was a renaissance. “The very first thing I did was tell her she needed a support system,” she said.

McDonough started attending Pride for Youth, a LGBTQ+ organization in Bellmore, educated herself on the history of the civil rights movement and started incorporating its lessons into her work as a singer/songwriter.

Today, McDonough has become a role model to whom others can look for support. On June 10, she performed at Long Beach Pridefest as part of Teen Pride, a show to celebrate LGBTQ+ youth.

McDonough advocated for youth empowerment this April when she set up a Gofundme page dedicated to Brendan Carr, a 13-year old Long Beach resident and musician who was bullied and took his life in September 2016. She earned a spot on the Teen Pride line-up after it’s coordinator Howie Appel, of Merrick, saw an article written about her activism in the Herald.

Appel also knew of McDonough through her involvement with the Long Beach musical group Studio Noir Summer Youth All Stars. Performers at Teen Pride had shared the stage with McDonough in the past through the program, in which attendees perform at local venues with instructor Ben Metzger.

McDonough’s set list for Teen Pride included songs from Adele and Hayley Kioyoko, in addition to the Queen hits, “Don’t Stop Me Now” and “I Want To Break Free.” She said that she considers Freddy Mercury one of her greatest musical influences, alongside Aretha Franklin. “They have been able to [influence music] at a time when what they were wasn’t okay,” McDonough said. “They used music to help them and other people who were like them.”

McDonough’s mother said that she preaches that message to her daughter, encouraging her to use her music as an outlet for social activism. “The more she is involved, the more she can help more people.”

Dayann McDonough grew up in the backdrop of a conservative Brooklyn landscape during the peak of the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement. “I’ve been an ally since I, myself, was Brianna’s age,” she said, adding that she was close friends with many LGBTQ+ individuals who were “literally, physically fighting for every single thing that they have right now.”

She added that there was no organization like Pride for Youth and no books about the LGBTQ+ culture, and when her friends expressed their alternative lifestyle they became targets “and I watched them be beaten up and just be horribly abused,” Dayann said. “Because I went through that I’m able to be here for my daughter.”

McDonough said that an event like Pridefest helps individuals in the community understand LGBTQ+ culture and “why we have the rights we have now.” She added that, “If people feel supported, they will feel more comfortable going against people who don’t agree with who they are.” McDonough and Dayann plan to remain active in the LGBTQ+ community and will be volunteering as sectional captains at this year’s NYC Pride.