The Chicago Pride March on June 27 was a joyous celebration of the LGBT community in support of full equality. Always heavily attended, this year the parade numbered 450,000 people. The Chicago branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation chanted and carried banners during the celebration that read, “Unite and Fight for Full Equality for LGBT People, Immigrants and All!”
On one corner of the parade route, a crowd of bigots held hateful anti-LGBT signs. The PSL and Gay Liberation Network contingents stood strong in front of the bigots, blocking them from view with banners and signs while chanting. Although the police threatened the contingents confronting the bigots with arrest and attempted to take away their bullhorns, they did not succeed. The contingents held their ground and were able to keep their position in front of the bigots. Parade participants were encouraged by this display of resistance, with many joining in with the anti-bigotry chants.
Pride celebrations are yearly events that commemorate the Stonewall Riots that took place in New York on June 28, 1969. On that morning, the police attempted to raid the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar. The LGBT community fought back and led a series of protests days after the raid. The next June, the first of decades of annual Pride marches took place in cities across the country.
