{"id":43251,"date":"2025-06-09T02:03:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T07:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=43251"},"modified":"2025-06-09T02:35:57","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T07:35:57","slug":"not-just-a-party-world-pride-celebrations-end-with-defiant-politics-on-display","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=43251","title":{"rendered":"‘Not just a party:’ World Pride celebrations end with defiant politics on display"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Washington\u2014 After the raucous rainbow-hued festivities of Saturday\u2019s parade, the final day of World Pride 2025<\/a> in the nation\u2019s capital kicked off on a more downbeat note.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thousands gathered under grey skies Sunday morning at the Lincoln Memorial for a rally and protest march, as the community gathers its strength for a looming fight under President Donald Trump\u2019s second administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is not just a party,\u201d Ashley Smith, board president of Capital Pride Alliance. \u201cThis is a rally for our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smith acknowledged that international attendance numbers for the bi-annual World Pride were measurably down, with many potential attendees avoiding travel to the U.S. due to either fear of harassment or in protest of Trump\u2019s policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat should disturb us and mobilize us,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Protesters cheered on LGBTQ+ activists taking the stage while waving both traditional Pride flags and flags representing transgender, bisexual, intersex and other communities. Many had rainbow glitter and rhinestones adorning their faces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They held signs declaring \u201cFight back,\u201d \u201cGay is good,\u201d \u201cBan bombs not bathrooms\u201d and \u201cWe will not be erased.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s campaign against transgender protections and oft-stated antipathy for drag shows have set the community on edge, with some hoping to see a renewed wave of street politics in response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTrans people just want to be loved. Everybody wants to live their own lives and I don\u2019t understand the problem with it all,\u201d said Tyler Cargill, who came wearing an elaborate costume with a hat topped by a replica of the U.S. Capitol building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wes Kincaid drove roughly six hours from Charlotte, North Carolina to attend this year. Sitting on a park bench near the reflecting pond, Kincaid said he made a point of attending this year, \u201cbecause it\u2019s more important than ever to show up for our community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reminders of the cuts to federal government programs were on full display. One attendee waved a pole bearing a massive rainbow flag along with a large USAID flag; another held a \u201cProud gay federal worker\u201d sign; and a third held an umbrella with the logos of various federal program facing cuts \u2014 including the PBS logo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s anti-trans rhetoric had fueled fears of violence or protests targeting World Pride participants; at one point earlier this spring, rumors circulated that the Proud Boys were planning to disrupt this weekend\u2019s celebrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those concerns prompted organizers to install security fencing around the entire two-day street party on a multi-block stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But so far, the only clear act of aggression has been the vandalizing of a queer bar last week. Late Saturday night, there was a pair of violent incidents near Dupont Circle \u2014 one of the epicenters of the World Pride celebrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two juveniles were stabbed and a man was shot in the foot in separate incidents. The Metropolitan Police Department says it is not clear if either incident was directly related to World Pride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A cold rain began falling around noon Sunday as the rally speakers cut short their comments and prepared to march. Some attendees filtered away while others huddled under umbrellas and ponchos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRain will not stop us, and after rain comes rainbows,\u201d said one speaker from the stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The speeches didn\u2019t just target the Trump administration or the Republican party. Some turned their ire on Democratic politicians, who they say have wilted under the pressure of Republican control of the White House and both houses of Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have to call out people who have abandoned our movement,\u201d said Tyler Hack of the Christopher Street Project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing a Democrat is more than carrying the party affiliation,\u201d Hack added. \u201cIt\u2019s about unapologetic support for the trans community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the main march headed toward the U.S. Capitol, a separate group splintered off and headed toward the White House, unfurling a large \u201cTRUMP MUST GO NOW\u201d banner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those who stayed to brave the weather said their presence amid less-than-ideal circumstances was vital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople are still out here, despite the rain, despite their exhaustion,\u201d said Gillian Brewer, a university student studying physics from Silver Spring, Maryland. \u201cWe\u2019re not going anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brewer expressed some frustration that the turnout for Sunday\u2019s protest march was lower than for the World Pride parade the day before, which she decided to skip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is more important,\u201d Brewer added. \u201cYou can party all you want but at the end of the day, the protest is why we can party.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Natalie Farmer, who traveled from San Diego with her wife, attributed the difference in numbers between the march and Saturday\u2019s parade to people being tired from celebrating the previous night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome of us have to do the rallying to keep the party going,\u201d Farmer said. \u201cWe all fight in different ways.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

nbcnews<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Washington\u2014 After the raucous rainbow-hued festivities of Saturday\u2019s parade, the final day of World Pride 2025 in the nation\u2019s capital kicked off on a more downbeat note. Thousands gathered under grey skies Sunday morning at the Lincoln Memorial for a rally and protest march, as the community gathers its strength for a looming fight under President Donald […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":43252,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1154],"tags":[8263,8202,1859],"class_list":["post-43251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trending","tag-just","tag-pride","tag-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43251"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43253,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43251\/revisions\/43253"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/43252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}