Thousands gather to unleash their Pride
Annual parade is part of weekend to celebrate area’s LGBTQ community
Thousands gathered Saturday afternoon along Charles Street to take part in Baltimore Pride, an annual celebration of Maryland’s SGL (same-gender loving) and LGBTQ communities.
The festivities included a performance and a race in high-heels, all leading up to one of Pride Weekend’s main attractions: the parade.
Advocates, allies and members of the SGL/LGBTQ community marched from Mount Vernon to Charles North while dancing, playing instruments and throwing candy to onlookers who cheered from the sidewalks.
Mimi Demissew, co-chair of the Pride Committee, said the theme for this year — ”Pride Unleashed” — is about expressing oneself without any restrictions.
“When we say we’re unleashed, we’re being unapologetic — we’re not asking for permission,” said Demissew, who is also co-executive director of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center of Baltimore and Central Maryland, the nonprofit organization that produces Baltimore Pride.
Kurtis Fedde, a gay man from Baltimore, said he wanted to participate in the parade to help motivate others.
“[I’m here] to set an example for everyone else that maybe is afraid to be who they are, afraid to come out or scared to show their true colors,” Fedde said. “I want to be a bright, shiny, beautiful example for everyone.”
“Pride Unleashed” holds a special significance this year, Demissew said, given the current national political climate. The parade took place just five days after the one-year anniversary of an attack at the gay Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Fla., where a gunman killed 49 people and wounded more than 50.
To ensure safety at the event, organizers worked with Baltimore police to bolster security. City Police Commissioner Kevin Davis canceled all scheduled leave for officers Saturday.
The move was also a response to a demonstration that took place during the Pride parade last weekend in Washington, where officers were forced to reroute the parade after an LGBTQ group called #NoJusticeNoPride protested that the event didn’t properly serve the LGBT community.
But the increased police presence Saturday didn’t dampen the mood for eventgoers and parade participants.
Esteban Rodriguez, another gay man from Baltimore, said the Pride parade brought much-needed visibility for those in the SGL/LGBTQ community.
“We’re showing everyone who is maybe afraid or not as confident that there is a community that they can be part of, and we’re here and ready for them whenever they’re ready,” Rodriguez said.
The Johns Hopkins University, the University of Baltimore, the American Civil Liberties Union, Under Armour and dozens of other groups were represented in Saturday’s parade.
Many held signs as they marched. One read, “Queer or straight my students are great.” Several carried signs that read “Love has no labels.”
Others targeted different causes. A group in the parade wielded a sign that said “Stop Racist Police Terror,” preceded by a car covered in posters that read “Justice for Philando Castile,” a man shot by police during a traffic stop in Minnesota.
Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen also participated in the event, appearing with Del. Mary Washington, a Baltimore Democrat, in solidarity with those marching.
“This is an important part of the fight for equality; we’ve made a lot of progress, but we need to resist those who want to turn back the clock on progress and march forward,” Van Hollen said.
“We need to press ahead on equality for all people,” he said. “Everyone should be able to pursue their own dreams [and] be who they are without fear of discrimination.”
In past Baltimore Pride events, some community members weren’t sufficiently represented, Demissew said, so inclusivity was another theme for this year’s celebration.
She said Pride organizers heard from a wider variety of community members while orchestrating the event this year.
“It’s a really great way to show off our diversity, a really great way to show off our neighborhood and the different things that are local and unique to our community,” she said.
Baltimore Pride began in 1975 and is considered the largest celebration of SGL/ LGBTQ communities in the state.
Events continue today with the Baltimore Pride Festival, which runs from noon to 6 p.m. in Druid Hill Park near the Sundial Pavilion. The festival will feature musical performances from Pretty Boi Drag, A Girl Named Chuck and DJ Deezy, among others.