Half a million show their pride

Half a million show their pride
By Amy Wooten
Copyright by The Chicago Free Press
July 2, 2009
http://www.chicagofreepress.com/node/3652


On the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, half a million Chicagoans showed their pride on Sunday.

The 40th annual Chicago Pride Parade was the largest to date, attracting an estimated 500,000 GLBTs and their allies.

“This is a holiday for us,” said Angel Gonzales, 25, who attends the parade every year with his friends. “I think we are just celebrating who we are. Today is our day.”

Over 250 organizations, politicians and businesses marched in this year’s parade. Parade goers saw many of the usual supporters on floats, but there were some newcomers, such as former Equality Illinois interim executive director Jim Madigan, who marched for the first time in the parade as a political candidate. Madigan, who is openly gay, will run against state Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago) for her 7th District seat. During the parade, the parents of Nettelhorst Elementary School students received loud cheers and applause. It was the first time a Chicago Public School participated in the Pride Parade. In the weeks leading up to Sunday’s parade, anti-gay bigots protested in front of the school, which was colorfully decorated in celebration of Pride Month, in hopes of pressuring the school to back out of its plans.

For the first time, organizers barricaded the entire parade route to control the crowd from spilling into the streets and to reduce injuries. In years prior, only a small fraction of the route was barricaded.

Some parade viewers, especially those who wanted to cross the barriers in order to meet up with friends, grumbled about the decision. And not all who provided security for the parade were happy, either.

“It’s not making my job any easier, actually,” a special events management security guard who wished to remain anonymous told CFP. Sunday was his third time manning the Pride Parade. “People are going to do what they want, regardless.”

Not all attendees were unhappy, however.

“I think it’s good,” Gonzales said. “I can actually see what’s going on for the first time.”

Several floats and parade participants paid homage to the Stonewall Riots, which took place during the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, in front of New York City’s Stonewall Inn. The historical moment is seen as the spark that launched the gay rights movement.

To some, celebrating the 40th anniversary of both the parade and the Stonewall Riots had special meaning. “I guess it could be seen as evidence we’ve made some sort of progress in the last forty years,” said Kristyn Ruh, 26, of Bolingbrook.

The message was lost on several younger parade goers interviewed by CFP, such as 23-year-old Katie Riley, who traveled from Plainfield for her fifth Pride Parade.

“I don’t know what that is, and I’d say my generation doesn’t know anything about it,” Riley said. “But I always look to the future, anyway.”