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Boston Pride (event)

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This article is about the annual LGBT event. For the hockey team, see Boston Pride.

Boston Pride
A photo of Elizabeth Warren at Boston Pride in 2017 outside the Boston Public Library.
StatusActive
GenrePride parade
FrequencyAnnually
Location(s)Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
InauguratedJune 1970 (1970-06)

Boston Pride is an annual LGBTQ pride event held in Boston, Massachusetts. As of 2019 it was the 22nd largest pride event in the world and alleged by organizers to be the third-largest pride parade in the United States.[1][2]

History

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1970s

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Boston Pride began in June 1970, when a small group of about 50 gay and lesbian activists marched from Cambridge Common to Boston Common, where they held a rally commemorating the Stonewall riots.[3][4][5] On June 26, 1971, about 300 people attended the first official Boston Pride March, which stopped at four locations in the city: Jacque's (a drag bar), the Boston police headquarters, the Massachusetts State House, and St. Paul's Cathedral.[6][7][8][9][10] At each location marchers read off their demands and grievances: misogyny, police harassment, legal discrimination, and religious persecution, respectively.[6] After the march, a rally was held with a "closet-smashing" demonstration.[9] In 1972, the march visited the city jail and returned to the State House.[9]

In 1974 the Lavender Rhino debuted as a float in the parade.[11] Earlier that year, Gay Media Action had put together a series of ads featuring the rhino as part of a campaign to encourage LGBTQ visibility. When they pitched the ads to the MBTA, however, they were told they could not run the ads at the public service price rather than the more expensive standard price.[11] This led to a protest campaign, which then led to the Lavender Rhino float.[11] Subsequently, the rhino became the parade's mascot.[5]

In 1978 the event was renamed the New England Lesbian and Gay Pride Parade; about 5,000 people attended.[8]

1980s

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1981 had an expected 10,000 marchers.[12] By 1984 attendance increased to 15,000, to 20,000 in 1985, and to 25,000 in 1986.[3][13][14]

In 1987 Boston Pride was able to raise a Lavender Rhino flag at City Hall.[8][15] The 1988 parade marked the first time the event was organized formally by a pride committee, who required pre-registration for marchers.[5]

1990s

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By 1993 Boston Pride was reporting an attendance of 100,000 people.[16] The growing attendance led to some corporate groups marching in the parade by 1994.[17]

In 1995 the Boston Dyke March was founded as an alternative to Boston Pride.[5] Organizers alleged that Boston Pride had become too apolitical.[5]

2000s

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Boston Pride in 2004 was particularly celebratory, as attendees celebrated the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, which had been announced in November 2003, with marriage licenses being given out starting in May 2004.[18]

2010s

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An estimated 25,000 people marched in the parade in 2014.[19]

In 2015 a group of protesters interrupted the parade to demand that organizers pay attention to the issues faced by transgender people and LGBTQ people of color.[20]

In 2017 the parade's theme was "Stronger Together" in remembrance of the victims of the 2016 Pulse Nightclub shooting; 29 survivors of the attack led the parade.[21]

2019 had an expected turnout of 50,000 marchers and 750,000 parade and festival attendees.[1][2][10]

2020s

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Boston Pride was not held in-person in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[22][23] In 2021 the organization known as Boston Pride dissolved after multiple years of internal disagreements.[24][25][26][27] In 2022 a variety of pride events were held in Boston, although none were on the scale of Boston Pride.[24][28]

In September 2022, a new organizing committee, Boston Pride for the People, was established.[29]

The Boston Pride parade returned under the new committee in June 2023.[29][30] Around 10,000 marchers registered to attend.[29]

in 2024, amid the ongoing Israel–Hamas war, queer pro-Palestinian advocates blocked the parade until police arrested the counter protesters.[31]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Boston's 2019 pride parade expected to be biggest ever". WCVB. June 7, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Boston Celebrates Pride With Record-Breaking Crowds". www.cbsnews.com. June 8, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Macias, Anna (June 15, 1986). "MARCHERS EXPRESS SOLIDARITY AT GAY PRIDE PARADE". Boston Globe. p. 30. ProQuest 294347073. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  4. ^ Waters, Michael (June 7, 2019). "The First Pride Marches, in Photos". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Finding Aid: Boston Pride Collection" (PDF). www.historyproject.org. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Toussaint, Kristin (June 11, 2015). "'Wicked Proud': How Boston has been celebrating LGBT pride for 45 years". www.boston.com. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  7. ^ "40 years of gay pride in Boston". Boston.com. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c Kavarana, Zarah (June 5, 2016). "Boston Pride Week, By the Numbers". Boston Magazine. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  9. ^ a b c Bruce, Katherine McFarland (2016). Pride parades : how a parade changed the world. New York. pp. 71, 85. ISBN 978-1-4798-1778-8. OCLC 956508790.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. ^ a b Bienick, David (June 8, 2019). "Boston Pride Parade commemorates birth of gay rights movement". WCVB. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  11. ^ a b c "How A Lavender Rhino Became A Symbol Of Gay Resistance In '70s Boston". www.wbur.org. June 3, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  12. ^ Harvey, Joseph M; Devall, Cheryl (June 20, 1981). "COURT CLEARS GAYS' ROUTE". Boston Globe. p. 21. ProQuest 294074866. Retrieved January 30, 2023 – via ProQuest.
  13. ^ Rofes, Eric (June 18, 1984). "Gay pride—a week to remember". Boston Globe. p. 9. ProQuest 1736123307. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  14. ^ Knott, Janet (June 16, 1985). "GAY PRIDE PARADE". Boston Globe. p. 25. ProQuest 1821211020. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  15. ^ Bickelhaupt, Susan (June 14, 1987). "30,000 gays rally to show pride, fight prejudice". Boston Globe. p. 1. ProQuest 2074257891. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  16. ^ Atkinson, Lisa (June 13, 1993). "Gays, lesbians parade their pride by the tens of thousands in Boston". Boston Globe. p. 44. ProQuest 294754755. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  17. ^ McFarling, Usha Lee (June 12, 1994). "Wearing the corporate label Businesses join Pride Parade". Boston Globe. p. 33. ProQuest 290692351. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  18. ^ Russell, Jenna (June 13, 2004). "GAY PRIDE PARADE PAYS TRIBUTE TO MARRIAGE PRIDE PARADE CELEBRATES GAY MARRIAGE". Boston Globe. p. 1. ProQuest 404909649. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  19. ^ "Thousands March In 2014 Boston Pride Parade". CBS Boston. June 14, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  20. ^ "Activists Disrupt Boston Pride, Demand More Racial, Trans Inclusivity". www.advocate.com. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  21. ^ "Boston Pride Day Event: A Day For Pride And To Remember". CBS Boston. June 10, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  22. ^ Hook, Douglas (June 12, 2020). "Boston Pride 50th anniversary: Festival goes virtual, parade postponed to 2021". masslive. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  23. ^ "Boston 2021 Pride Parade, Festival Won't Be Held In June". www.cbsnews.com. February 19, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  24. ^ a b Wintersmith, Saraya (April 13, 2022). "Iconic Boston Pride parade will not return this summer". WGBH. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  25. ^ Doan-Nguyen, Yan H (June 28, 2022). "'The End of One Era': Marching Toward a New Boston Pride | Magazine | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  26. ^ Gray, Arielle (July 1, 2020). "LGBTQ+ Activists Clash With Boston Pride, Demand Board Resignation". www.wbur.org. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  27. ^ Kearnan, Scott (June 12, 2020). "Boston Pride's Response to the Black Lives Matter Protests Is a Shame". Boston Magazine. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  28. ^ Beland, Amanda (June 12, 2022). "Boston LGBTQ+ community steps up to lead reimagined Pride Month celebrations". www.wbur.org. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  29. ^ a b c LeBlanc, Steve (June 10, 2023). "LGBTQ+ Pride parade returns to Boston after rift over inclusivity". AP News. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  30. ^ "Boston Pride parade returns for first time since 2019 - CBS Boston". www.cbsnews.com. June 10, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  31. ^ Villarreal, Daniel (July 8, 2024). "This year's Pride parades met a new opponent: pro-Palestinian LGBTQ+ protestors". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
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