Cities across the country and the world celebrated Pride this year with a multitude of parades and events to show support for the LGBTQ+ community. After a year of fighting for rights, June was a time to celebrate queer joy. Keep reading to see the pictures our staff took as they participated in Pride events from Mexico to New York.
Katherine Oung, Newsroom Operations, Data and Digital Director: Indianapolis; New York City
I’d never been to a Pride event before this year, so I decided to make up for this month by going to three: Indy Pride in Indianapolis, where I’m living for the summer, and two during my trip to New York City.
In NYC, I attended the 31st annual Dyke March, a demonstration for lesbian visibility that harkens back to Pride’s activist roots. Several community organizations joined the protest, such as Black and Pink, which supports incarcerated LGBTQ+ individuals, and Q-Wave, a queer and Asian identity group.
The next day, I attended the iconic NYC Pride Parade. City-led Pride events have become increasingly corporatized and expensive in recent years, but my favorite parts of the day were the more informal acts of gathering together. In Manhattan’s many streets and parks — seemingly in every direction I looked — people and their loved ones brought music, festivity and their colorful, joyous selves.
Barrie Barto, Photography Director: St. Louis
Like Kath, this was my first year attending a Pride event. During the weekend of June 24, I attended Pride festivities in St. Louis. Missouri has done its best to take away the rights of many trans youth’s health care and LGBTQ+ students’ ability to speak about their identity, read stories like theirs and play sports as who they are. However, for one weekend it was wonderful to lay aside this fear and hate and focus on the immense amount of joy in the St. Louis community.
Julia Tilton, Staff Writer: Campeche, Mexico
I attended Pride celebrations in Campeche, Mexico, a mid-sized city on the western coast of the Yucatán Peninsula. Marching bands, drag queens and rainbow-colored floats passed out t-shirts and candy to onlookers as they paraded their way down the Malecón, the city’s ocean-facing thoroughfare. Signs declared “orgullo,” Spanish for pride, as well as other sentiments like “amor es amor,” love is love. The day’s events concluded with drag shows throughout the city, including one I attended at a downtown restaurant featuring performances from four Campechana locals.
Nikita Rohila, Deputy Social Media Director: San Francisco
The city of San Francisco gathered early in the morning for its Pride Parade on June 25. As I made my way to the Civic Center in the afternoon, I was immersed in a scene bustling with food, celebration and laughter. The plaza was festooned with rainbows and pride flags, and the area was packed with people. In front of City Hall, a large stage welcomed attendees to spend the rest of the afternoon with live music from headliner Hayley Kiyoko and other artists such as Alex Lahey and Vincent. Fueled by the crowd’s energy and the event’s atmosphere, I left the celebration filled with self-love, acceptance and joy.
Olivia Noell, Staff Photographer: Nashville, Tenn.
Nashville hosted its annual Pride Parade and Festival on June 24 and 25. The festival featured headliners like Fletcher, Fitz and The Tantrums and surprise guest speaker, Dr. Jill Biden. At the parade, there were hundreds of empowering signs and banners ranging from “Free Mom Hugs” to “Free Dad Hugs” to “Queerfully & Wonderfully Made” to “This is What Pride Looks Like.” I tried to collect many keepsakes like bracelets and stickers to commemorate my first Pride experience.
It was truly beautiful to witness so much unconditional love and support in one space. I met many kind people, listened to some cool new music and perused the various vendor booths. Overall, the weekend was an inspiring celebration of identity and inclusion that I cannot wait to experience again next year!
