Sat 6/7
Pride in the CLE, with the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland, filled the streets of Cleveland on June 7th, beginning the annual pride march at 11 a.m. From Public Square to Lakeside Avenue, community members and spectators lined the streets in support and celebration of Pride Month.
In the face of recent corporate-flight on mass from Pride Month sponsorships, this year’s festival acquired an air of authenticity and sincerity.
In an unfeigned show of persistence, attendees circled around a few and far between protestors, utilizing pride flags and signs to mask the half-hearted disruptors. Overall, the opposition’s spark has seemingly fizzled; somewhere in that metaphor, is a lesson about actions having consequences. Accounts from the event paint a picture of how small and ridiculous hatred can make people. Turning oneself into a funny backdrop for defiant kissing selfies, while pearl-clutching a cardboard sign sharpied with poorly-worded attacks, ultimately breeds isolation.
One attendee anonymously shared with CoolCleveland, “I love seeing how our community handled that hate without violence,” recalling their encounter with several protestors, “A bunch of people gathered around this dude with a megaphone, […] talking about us all going to hell, we just started dancing around him, screaming and hyping each other up to drown out his rambling. It was beautiful to witness,” The group in question was described as, “A guy with the megaphone, glued to his side was a lady claiming no involvement, and a guy dressed in all red recording on his phone from afar.” The dispassionate display remains starkly contrast to the joy and visibility of Pride, and it never helps to be the worst dressed at a function.
The 10th annual Pride in the CLE went off without a hitch, bringing the community live alternative & pop music, glamorous Drag Queens, local vendors & food trucks, and a day of welcome entertainment. For attendee Lily Olsen, it’s also a reminder to keep pushing back, encouraging fellow LGBTQIA+ members to oppose injustice, “I am happy to see that a safe space still exists here for queers and trans folk to be out and proud, I want us all to remember that queer liberation cannot exist without liberation for all. This should be a time to celebrate queer resiliency and protest the injustices of our current government. No one is safe until Palestinians, immigrants, the transgender community, and ALL PEOPLE are safe.”
Photos by Liv Lewis