Celebrations kicked off the first weekend and first day of Pride with spectacular turnout and undeniable support for LGBTQ people in cities across the U.S.
LGBTQ Americans and allies of all abilities, ages, faiths, gender identities, races, and sexual orientations joined hundreds of sponsors and vendors at celebrations to march and elevate LGBTQ and ally co-workers and neighbors.
Pride in the Cle
Pride In The Cle, hosted and organized by the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland, the third-oldest LGBTQ center in the U.S., stepped off in downtown Cleveland with a mile-long march on Saturday to “commemorate the thousands who have marched over the last half century demanding the fair and equal treatment of the LGBTQ+ community.”
Hometown-based national names sponsored and marched including American Greetings, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Guardians, Key Bank, Progressive Insurance, and Sherman Williams along with other community institutions Cleveland Foundation, Cleveland Museum of Art, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland State University, John Carroll University, Ursuline College, at least four local and county libraries, and the NASA Glenn Research Center.
Thousands lined the streets and filled the downtown outdoor malls to celebrate with community organizers and organizations including Equality Ohio, ACLU of Ohio, Cleveland Pride Band, Burning River Roller Derby, Dobama Theatre, the local Steelworkers Union, and Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, a staunch ally who was surrounded by several city offices and agencies, their LGBTQ employees and allies.
“#PrideInTheCLE isn’t just a celebration; it’s a powerful statement of visibility, acceptance, and the ongoing fight for equality. Our city welcomes everyone to celebrate who they are!” Mayor Bibb’s office tweeted.
The day stretched into early evening with the family-friendly festival across downtown Cleveland from Browns Stadium to the convention center and beyond to include a main stage and speakers stage for local talent.
Pittsburgh Pride
The 51st Pittsburgh Pride brought out tens of thousands of people and featured a surprise visit from First Lady Jill Biden. Dr. Biden joined the march route and then took the stage, introduced by Nathaniel Yap of Fairness Pennsylvania, joined by his husband and their children.
“History teaches us that our rights and freedoms don’t disappear overnight,” Dr. Biden said, according to TribLive. “They disappear slowly … silently — a book ban, a court decision, a Don’t Say Gay law. One group of people loses its rights, and then another, and then another until one morning you wake up and you no longer live in a democracy.”
“It shouldn’t take courage to hold someone’s hand on the bus, to kiss them goodbye on the sidewalk, to love who you love,” Dr. Biden said.
”We have to fight like hell and win,” she said. “And when we do, we will secure a future where your courage is no longer needed. Where all people in all places can feel the freedom and the pride that we feel here today.”
The iconic Sister Bridges in #Pittsburgh shining bright with rainbow colors for the start of Pride month. pic.twitter.com/BuThs5zeB8
— Jake Mysliwczyk (@jake_mysliwczyk) June 2, 2024
Buffalo Pride
Buffalo Pride included a parade and festival on Sunday, June 2. Thousands lined the streets and the event was livestreamed on Buffalo’s ABC affiliate, WKBW.
V Spehar, host of the GLAAD media award nominated “Under the Desk News,” organized an inclusive book drive and giveaway with the Buffalo Bills and the Rainbow Dads family.
View this post on Instagram
“You can go to New York City Pride and Philly Pride and I’m sure those are great too,” a grateful and elated V later told followers, “but to me, nothing compares to your hometown Pride parade.”