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During a week in which the city viscerally remembered the country’s traumas, with March for Our Lives at the National Mall and insurgency hearings at the Capitol, DC’s Capital Pride Parade on Saturday was an exercise in joy.
Bubbles floated, drag queens fluttered, children cheered from their parents’ shoulders.
Thousands gathered for the parade, which returned fully in person after two years of modified celebrations due to the pandemic. The celebration, lasting a few hours, extended along a 1 ½ mile route through Shaw, Logan Circle and Dupont. Circle the neighborhoods.
Zsannette Olson, 50, her two daughters and one of her friends arrived at the parade after participating in the March for Our Lives demonstration in the early hours of the day. Exhausted after taking part in the solemn protests against armed violence, they were thrilled to enjoy the Pride festivities.
However, Olson said they knew they were not only there to celebrate, but also to continue to advocate for equality and security for all.
“We’re definitely presenting ourselves more, making our voices heard, calling our congressmen and letting them know we don’t stand for it,” he said of recent legislation restricting LGBTQ rights.
This year’s parade comes at a time of political uncertainty over LGBTQ rights across the country. Florida lawmakers recently passed the Parental Rights in Education Bill, which bans instruction or debate on LGBTQ issues in schools for younger students; critics call it the “don’t say gay” bill. In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) ordered research on the use of gender-based care for transgender children.
“These are bills that affect us and our education,” said Natalia Peña, 18, who has just graduated from Hayfield. Fairfax County High School.
Ryan Bos, executive director of the Capital Pride Alliance, said legislation that threatens LGBTQ rights underscores the purpose and value of the Pride parade and celebrations.
“This is our voice. This is the time to be visible, to be heard,” he said.
Members of Whitman-Walker Health, a clinic that focuses on LGBTQ and HIV / AIDS health care, gathered at the start of the parade dressed in purple T-shirts that said “Let’s say gay.”
“We’re lucky to live in a community that can be open about it, but not everyone can be that tall,” said Heather Alt, 38, who works as the clinic’s deputy director of nursing.
Kim Herrmann, 37, pediatrician to Whitman-Walker, he said it was crucial to demonstrate the importance of the care it provides.
“I serve the trans community as a primary care physician and as a gender affirmation provider,” she said. “I’m here to really protect them and give them access to health care like everyone else.”
This year is Herrmann’s first Pride in DC, and compared to the events he attended while living in the Midwest, he said Capital Pride feels a lot more like a celebration. He said he was excited to relax and enjoy the parade with his wife.
“There’s a lot of community here,” he said. “He doesn’t feel so anxious.”
Outside a restaurant, Jackie Segler, 40, added another rainbow flag to her motorcycle just before the parade began. On his basket had sat his broken but festive skeleton, Che.
Segler has lived in the District for six years and has attended Pride in the past, but this is the first since the pandemic began. She was ready to relive the energy of the celebration.
“I feel like no one is judging you here,” Segler said. “Pride is my favorite party of the year in DC. I have friends I haven’t seen in years, and it’s going to be great to see them again.”
Last year, DC celebrated pride with small crowds a caravan of cars. In 2020, as the marches were largely canceled, Pride organizers around the world offered parades and virtual events.
The great return of Capital Pride: Parade, Joe Jonas and many parties
Saturday’s parade topped a list of Capital Pride events this month. Joe Jonas’ DNCE band will play at the Capital Pride festival and concert on Sunday, along with “RuPaul’s Drag Race” winners Willow Pill and Symone.
On Saturday, the partygoers wore the best fashion of Pride: layers of peacock feathers, leather vests with nails and short net tops. Rainbow flags and t-shirts were surpassed by rainbow angel wings, rainbow high boots and rainbow crochet bikinis.
Dupont Circle was packed with thousands of people. Bus benches became spotlights as observers climbed up to cheer on DC public school children waving flags and jumping on the tarmac. At the end of the parade route, the men of the Mid-Atlantic Leather contest posed for photos near vendors selling ice cream tea and unicorn masks.
Across the country, law enforcement presence in Pride has caused tension in many cities. In DC, the 2017 parade protests resulted in the Capitol Pride Alliance creating a policy that banned uniformed officers from marching in parade. Ahead of this year’s parade, a Capitol Pride spokesman told The Washington Post that the policy was still in place.
“We have engaged in talks with law enforcement expressing our desire to recognize the community’s concerns about having uniformed officers present at the parade,” Marquia Parnell said in an email.
But on Saturday, several members of the DC police they wore their full uniforms as they marched with the cohort surrounding Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D). They handed out rainbow bracelets and pearls, stopping along the route to greet and hug fans. Dozens of other uniformed officers and DC police cruisers were stationed along the route guarding the crowds.
The parade provoked small counter-protests. At Dupont Circle, a small group shouting about sin was drowned out by the band playing “Shots, Shots, Shots.” But most of those attending the parade did not engage with the protesters, but ignored them or laughed at them as they passed.
Recent discussions about whether corporate sponsorship has a place in Pride celebrations arose at this year’s celebration.
Several companies, such as Target, Visa, Mastercard, Airbnb and Lockheed Martin, had their floats for the parade.
A parade attendee showed off a large check with “End Corporate Pride” with rainbow lettering. Protesters in 2017 interrupted the parade and said Capital Pride was more interested in corporate sponsors than in supporting marginalized communities.
Bos said he believes there should be a balance and recognize that many of those who parade in the parade are members of the community who work for corporations and demand change within their businesses.
“At times when the government is not turning its back on us, sometimes corporations are there for us,” he said. “So our community is everywhere. We are in the churches, we are in the social groups. We are in the non-profit organizations, in the corporations and in the government. We are all members of the community.”
Back at the parade, many of those who celebrated said they were eager to show their support for LGBTQ causes.
Chris Ammon, a 51-year-old schoolteacher living in Falls Church, believes his role as an ally of the LGBTQ community is to support those who trust him, especially his students.
“I have flags like the ones you see around us and students ask who they are for,” Ammon said. “And I tell them they’re for everyone.”
As the crowd erupted, Ammon admired the views from P Street.
“When people go out for it, they dress up for the crowd, but also the more real version of themselves,” Ammon said. “When this community overcomes obstacles, they lower their guard and live their most real lives.”