The most common sights from last weekend’s Pride festivities all seemed to involve the heat — festivalgoers fanning themselves, mopping sweat from their brows, pouring water on their and their friends’ heads. But there were also a number of scenes that represented more than the sweltering temperatures — and spoke to the direction in which our community is headed.
The number of youth at the parade and festival was astounding. Each year, it seems as though the age of the crowd gets younger and younger. While that could be a testament to the increasing ease with which the younger generation is coming out, it also speaks to the notion that this generation is still seeking community. Although openly embracing one’s identity may be getting easier for young people, they still seem to be drawn to identifying with their community. Market Street was lined with young folks scrambling for rainbow beads, the crowd before the Pride stage was largely youth-oriented, the vendor tables were crawling with teenagers who were eagerly gathering information, collecting swag bags and adding their names to sign-up sheets.
That notion suggests the potential that exists for future Pride and other community events; younger generations should play integral roles in their development. While our community’s history shouldn’t be neglected — fittingly the 50th anniversary of the Annual Reminders figured prominently into this year’s Pride — there’s also room for youth involvement. As evidenced by the announcement of next month’s first-ever Philadelphia Youth Pride, which has been conceived of, planned and organized by youth, our community’s young people are ready, willing and eager to lead.
Another common scene at the event was the impressive number of allies. While LGBT community organizations and businesses were well-represented among the vendors, there was a wealth of non-LGBT tables — from national corporations to small businesses and everything in between. Whether it was the Philadelphia Police Department recruiting LGBT applicants or a local window-repair company offering their services to LGBT homeowners, the allies turned out in force, illustrating that mainstream society is recognizing that our community is full of viable consumers, clients, potential employees. Their involvement at Pride ideally mirrors advocacy for our community’s causes — or will motivate them to do so in the future.
From allies to youth, the diversity on display at Pride was encouraging. As the colors of our rainbow expand, our community’s future gets brighter.