Get together and protest combine as LGBTQ+ satisfaction parades kick off from New York to San Francisco – MyStateline.com
NEW YORK (AP) – Some of the world’s biggest celebrations of LGBTQ+ pride will begin on Sunday. Thousands are expected to march in New York, San Francisco and other North American cities in parades that will be part party, part protest.
Entertainers and activists, drag performers and transgender advocates are among the grand marshals at parades delivering a unity message this year as several US states enact new laws targeting the LGBTQ+ community.
The parades and marches are among a series of events being hosted by the approximately 400 Pride organizations across the US this year, with many programs specifically targeting transgender rights.
“The platform will be raised and we will see communities across the country show their unity and solidarity through these events,” said Ron deHarte, co-president of the US Association of Prides.
Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver and Seattle are all expected to hold their annual Pride parades on Sunday. More than 100 groups are expected to attend the parade in Toronto, Canada. In New York City, seven-time Grammy winner Christina Aguilera will headline a post-March concert in Brooklyn.
The New York march takes place on the last Sunday in June to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in New York City, when a police raid on a gay bar sparked days of protests.
Over the years, the annual observations have expanded to other cities and now include bisexual, transgender, queer and other groups.
About a decade ago, when her 13-year-old child first wanted to be called a boy, Roz Gould Keith sought help but could find little to help her family navigate their child’s transition. They attended a Pride march in the Detroit area, but saw few transgender representatives.
This year, she is heartened by the increased visibility of transgender people at marches and celebrations that have taken place across the country this month.
“Ten years ago, when my son asked to go to Motor City Pride, there was nothing for the transgender community,” said Keith, the founder and executive director of Stand with Trans, a group formed to empower young transgender people. Support people and their loved ones and strengthen families.
This year, she said, the event was “packed” with the portrayal of transgender people.
One of the big marshals of New York’s parade this year is non-binary activist AC Dumlao, chief of staff for Athlete Ally, a group that advocates for LGBTQ+ athletes.
“Promoting the trans community has always been at the core of our events and programs,” said Dan Dimant, a spokesperson for NYC Pride.
Many of this year’s parades served as a call to action for LGBTQ+ communities to unite against dozens, if not hundreds, of bills currently under consideration in state houses across the country.
Lawmakers in 20 states have decided to ban gender-based childcare and at least seven others are considering doing the same, making uniting in the transgender community even more urgent, advocates say.
“We are threatened. Prides are in jeopardy,” said Pride organizers in New York, San Francisco and San Diego in a statement, joined by about 50 other Pride organizations across the country. “The multiple dangers we face as the LGBTQ community and Pride organizers, while varying in nature and intensity, share a common trait: they are aimed at protecting our love, our identity, our freedom, our security and our undermining life.”
Some parades, including the Chicago event, plan to increase security amid the unrest.
The Anti-Defamation League and GLAAD, a national LGBTQ+ organization, have identified 101 anti-LGBTQ+ incidents in the first three weeks of this month alone, about twice the number for the entire month of June last year.
Sarah Moore, who analyzes extremism for the two civil rights groups, said many of the June incidents coincided with Pride events.
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AP contributors Geoff Mulvihill in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut contributed to this report.
