NEW YORK — Celebrations mixed with demonstrations of resistance on Sunday, as LGBTQ+ pride parades filled the streets in some of the country’s largest cities and hosted annual events that were part party, part protest.

In New York, thousands marched cheering and waving rainbow flags down Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue to Greenwich Village to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall riot, when a police raid on a gay bar sparked days of protests and started a movement for LGBTQ+ rights shouted.

While some cheered jubilantly, many were aware of the growing conservative backlash to restricting rights, including by banning gender-affirming care for transgender children.

“I’m not trying not to be too political, but when it’s actually about my community, I’m very, very upset and very hurt,” said Ve Cinder, a 22-year-old transgender woman who traveled from Pennsylvania to celebrate the cause Attend the country’s largest Pride event.

“I’m just scared for my future and for my trans siblings. I’m afraid of how this country judges human rights, basic human rights,” she said. “It’s crazy.”

Parades in New York, Chicago and San Francisco are among the events being hosted by around 400 Pride organizations across the US this year, with many focusing specifically on transgender people’s rights.

On Sunday, people watch the Pride parade in New York.Eduardo Munoz Alvarez / AP

Entertainers and activists, drag performers and transgender advocates are among the parade grand marshals declaring a message of unity as several US states enact new laws targeting the LGBTQ+ community.

“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 scheduled to hold 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 annual observations have spread to other cities and are now also accessible to bisexual, transgender and queer people and other groups.

About a decade ago, when her 13-year-old child first wanted to be called a boy, Roz Gould sought Keith’s help. She found little to help her family navigate the 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 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, founder and executive director of Stand with Trans, a group created to serve young transgender people and to support and strengthen their families.

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This year, she said, the event was “packed” with transgender people.

One of the great marshals of the New York City parade 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 called on LGBTQ+ communities to unite against dozens, if not hundreds, of bills currently under deliberation 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, adding urgency to the transgender community, their advocates say.

“We are under threat,” organizers of Pride events in New York, San Francisco and San Diego said in a statement, which was 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, were scheduled for heightened security in light of the unrest.

The Anti-Defamation League and GLAAD, a national LGBTQ+ organization, identified 101 anti-LGBTQ+ incidents in the first three weeks of this month, about double 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.

The post Occasion and protest combine as LGBTQ+ delight parades kick off from New York to San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

NEW YORK – 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 under threat,” 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 LGBTQ community and Pride organizers, while varying in nature and intensity, have one common trait: they are designed to undermine our love, our identity, our freedom, our security and our lives .”

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.

___

AP contributors Geoff Mulvihill in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut contributed to this report.

The post Occasion and protest combine as LGBTQ+ pleasure parades kick off from New York to San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

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.

___

AP contributors Geoff Mulvihill in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut contributed to this report.

The post Get together and protest combine as LGBTQ+ satisfaction parades kick off from New York to San Francisco – MyStateline.com appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

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.

___

AP contributors Geoff Mulvihill in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut contributed to this report.

The post Celebration and protest combine as LGBTQ+ delight parades kick off from New York to San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

San Francisco is expected to have not one but two parades Sunday, June 26, as the Pride event returns after a two-year hiatus and will be joined by the third people’s march.

And it’s not just San Francisco. As COVID-19 seems, once again, to be slipping into the background, numerous LGBTQ communities around the country are making plans to finally throw the in-person Pride parades they’ve had to put on hold for the past two years. Organizers are optimistic but, understandably, cautious.

Everyone, however, is ready for a party.

San Francisco celebrants will hit the street — Market Street, that is — the last Sunday in June as part of its traditional two-day 52nd San Francisco Pride festival. This year’s celebration, themed “Love Will Keep Us Together,” comes after significant changes in leadership at SF Pride. Former executive director Fred Lopez who, because of the pandemic, never got to oversee an in-parade in his two-year tenure, stepped down February 17. Succeeding him is interim Executive Director Suzanne Ford, the first transgender person in the leadership role.

For those looking for something a little more activist-focused, DJ and drag star Juanita MORE!, who just stepped down from her reign as Empress 56, is helping organize the third People’s March that is expected to take place the same Sunday. Following the Pride parade’s original route, the People’s March will begin on Polk Street, “led by Brown and Black and people of color,” MORE! said in a phone interview with the Bay Area Reporter.

With a stronger focus on local arts and performers, and a notably smaller budget, the people’s march arose during the first year of the pandemic. Unable to hold her usual Pride Day fundraiser party, as she had for the previous 16 years, MORE! and activist Alex U. Inn — a former SF Pride grand marshal and board member — organized the alternative event. Its start time and date isn’t finalized, as MORE! is in the process of securing permits, but MORE! expects the People’s March to take place the same day as its larger counterpart, as it has the past two years.

Plans in other cities
Farther south, there are big changes in store for Los Angeles Pride, scheduled for Sunday, June 12. After a two-year absence which, like San Francisco, meant not being able to mark its 50th anniversary, the parade is coming back in a new, old location. After years of marching through West Hollywood, the parade is returning to Hollywood itself, the site of the original route.

“LA Pride is thrilled to come together this year to commemorate the historic anniversary at the parade’s first and original location,” stated Gerald Garth, vice president of programs and initiatives for Christopher Street West Association Inc., in a news release. “As a mission-driven and community-centered nonprofit organization, [Christopher Street] recognizes that LGBTQ+ experiences of Los Angeles are broader than just one neighborhood. Considering feedback gathered since the pandemic began, we are committed to creating experiences and access to our entire community, including many of those who have been most underserved and underrepresented.”

With the LA Pride parade moving back to Los Angeles, West Hollywood will hold its inaugural Pride festival June 3-5, with activities centered in and around West Hollywood Park, 647 N. San Vicente Boulevard.

In San Diego, organizers managed to keep events going throughout the year even if the pandemic forced them to cancel their bigger, annual parade in 2020. They did hold a smaller Pride march last July.

“We’re sort of interesting in that our pride organization is year-round and is also an arts and advocacy organization,” said San Diego Pride Executive Director Fernando Lopez Jr. That year-round focus enables the organization to run 35 different events throughout the year It also helped to keep its finances in good shape, they said.

This year’s parade, themed “Justice With Joy,” is scheduled for July 16, one month later than celebrations in San Francisco and Los Angeles. The parade will begin at the Hillcrest Pride Flag at University Avenue and Normal Street, and proceed for 1.5 miles until it wraps up at Quince Drive.

Heading north, Portland, Oregon will see an even larger event than the last one it held in 2019. Organizers had introduced plans to increase their annual festival’s footprint on the city’s waterfront only to see them dashed because of the pandemic. Now, they’re moving ahead with that expansion, said Debra Porta, executive director of Pride Northwest.

“Barring the world ending or something, we are planning to be back on the waterfront for the full two-day Pride waterfront festival,” said Porta in a telephone interview.

Like its sister events throughout the country, Pride Northwest had to refashion itself to continue its work through the pandemic. Like San Diego Pride, Pride Northwest isn’t just about the annual festival but also engages in community work throughout the year.

“Our community was hit hard in Portland,” said Porta, a lesbian. “We really sort of spun on a dime and our primary efforts were direct service.” The organization was also able to rely on a rainy-day fund they’d been building for the past 10 years. No small matter for an organization that raises 80 to 90% of its funding from its annual Pride celebration.

The parade will take place June 19 in downtown Portland; Portland Pride Waterfront Festival will run for two days, June 18-19.

As the BAR previously reported, new organizers in Oakland are planning for a PrideFest September 11. There will not be a parade, and the exact location of the street festival has not been determined, though organizers would like it to be in the vicinity of the previous Oakland Pride event.

Other Pride organizations contacted by the BAR did not respond to requests for comment.

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