On Sunday, thousands of enthusiastic marchers flooded the streets of New York City, dancing to club music and celebrating Pride Month’s grand finale.
As bubbles and confetti rained down, revelers in cities from Toronto to San Francisco cheered along in support. In New York, the lively crowd paraded down Fifth Avenue to Greenwich Village, waving rainbow flags and marking the 1969 Stonewall uprising which started after a police raid on a gay bar, leading to days of protests and laying the groundwork for the modern movement for LGBTQ+ rights.
Despite the lively atmosphere, many participants of LGBTQ+ Pride Month’s celebrations were also keeping in mind the growing conservative countermovement, which includes new laws banning gender-affirming care for transgender children.
While some reveled in celebration, others expressed their frustration and hurt. Ve Cinder, a 22-year-old transgender woman who came from Pennsylvania to take part in the largest Pride event in the country, shared her feelings on the political climate: “I’m trying not to be very heavily political, but when it does target my community, I get very, very annoyed and very hurt.”
Ve Cinder expressed her fears for the future of the transgender community, stating that she is scared for her future and that of her trans siblings.
She also expressed her concern about how the country has viewed basic human rights, stating that it’s “crazy.” These sentiments reflect the worries of many in the LGBTQ+ community, who are concerned about the growing conservatism and its potential effect on their rights and freedoms.
This year, roughly 400 Pride organizations across the U.S. are holding events, including parades in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and other major cities.
Many of these events are focused specifically on the rights of transgender people. One of the grand marshals of the New York City parade is AC Dumlao, a nonbinary activist and chief of staff for Athlete Ally, a group that advocates for LGBTQ+ athletes. The visibility and celebration of the LGBTQ+ community during Pride Month aims to promote acceptance, equality, and support for all members of the community.
Dan Dimant, a spokesperson for NYC Pride, expressed that uplifting the trans community has always been a central focus of their events and programming.
San Francisco Pride, one of the largest and most renowned LGBTQ+ celebrations in the United States, attracted a multitude of spectators to the city on Sunday.
The festivities commenced with Dykes on Bikes leading the way, and the parade showcased numerous vibrant floats, some of which conveyed powerful messages against the surge of anti-transgender legislation in statehouses nationwide.
According to organizers, this year’s theme placed a strong emphasis on activism. Notably, the parade featured the nation’s first drag laureate, D’Arcy Drollinger.
Drollinger expressed during a breakfast before the parade that when we confidently and uniquely navigate through the world, we become a source of inspiration for everyone.
On Market Street, House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Adam Schiff of Burbank were seen riding together.
In Chicago, despite a sudden downpour at the start of the parade, attendees sought refuge under awnings, trees, and umbrellas, undeterred by the rain.
The city’s newly elected mayor, Brandon Johnson, tweeted, “A little rain won’t hinder our spirits!”
On Sunday, Chicago held its 52nd annual celebration, featuring drag performers Marilyn Doll Traid and Selena Peres, as well as the Bud Billiken dancers. The crowd enthusiastically praised the dancers, who symbolized the celebration of Black heritage in Chicago’s South Side.
Traid emphasized the importance of the Chicago Pride parade, stating, “It’s crucial to have a Chicago Pride parade. And for those who oppose us, they need to understand that we all stand united.”
In Houston, thousands of people took to the streets on Saturday night to celebrate pride parades and show support for the LGBTQ+ community.
“Houston is one big diverse family. Today is all about celebrating individuals who are true to themselves, embracing their authenticity, and spreading the message that this city is filled with love, not division or hate,” said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.
San Antonio also joined in the celebration by holding its Pride parade on Saturday night, attracting hundreds of people who lined the downtown streets.
“This year’s theme is ‘Just Say Gay.’ We feel so strongly about the legislation that’s occurring, not only here in Texas, but in other states throughout the United States that are trying to put us back in the closet,” Phillip Barcena, Pride San Antonio president, told KSAT.
Also Saturday, first lady Jill Biden made an appearance at the Pride parade in Nashville, Tennessee, where she told the crowd “loud and clear that you belong, that you are beautiful, that you are loved.”
Many other cities held their marquee events earlier this month, including Boston, which hosted its first parade after a three-year hiatus that began with COVID-19 but extended through 2022 because the organization that used to run it dissolved under criticism that it excluded racial minorities and transgender people.
A key message this year has been for LGBTQ+ communities to unite against dozens, if not hundreds, of legislative bills now under consideration in statehouses across the country.
Lawmakers in 20 states have moved to ban gender-affirming care for children, and at least seven more are considering doing the same, adding increased urgency for the transgender community, its advocates say.
“We are facing a serious threat,” stated Pride event organizers from New York, San Francisco, and San Diego, along with approximately 50 other Pride organizations across the country. They emphasized that although the dangers confronting the LGBTQ community and Pride organizers may vary in nature and intensity, they all share a common goal of undermining our love, identity, freedom, safety, and lives.
On Sunday, Governor Kathy Hochul of New York signed a bill that establishes the state as a “safe haven” for transgender youth. The bill also prohibits law enforcement agencies from disclosing information that could hinder a child’s access to gender-affirming care.
Mayor Adams of New York City took similar action this week by issuing an executive order that prevents the use of city resources to assist out-of-state authorities in detaining individuals receiving gender-affirming care in the city.
The Anti-Defamation League and GLAAD, a national LGBTQ+ organization, reported a significant increase in anti-LGBTQ+ incidents during the first three weeks of this month. There were approximately twice as many incidents compared to the entire month of June last year.
Sarah Moore, an analyst of extremism for two civil rights organizations, noted that numerous incidents occurred concurrently with Pride events.
However, Roz Gould Keith, a mother of a transgender son, finds solace in the growing presence of transgender individuals at marches and festivities nationwide.
Keith, who established Stand with Trans—an organization dedicated to providing support and empowerment to young transgender individuals and their families—recalled that a decade ago, there were no resources available for the transgender community when her son expressed his desire to attend Motor City Pride.
She mentioned that this year’s event was filled to the brim with transgender individuals.