Motor City Pride attracts record crowds for celebration and advocacy

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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks at Motor City Pride, June 9, 2024 | Michigan Advance


(Michigan Advance) While music pulsed out over the Detroit River, thousands of people — young and old — celebrated the LGBTQ+ community over the weekend at Hart Plaza.

Motor City Pride, which bills itself as Michigan’s largest Pride celebration, traces its roots back more than half-century to June 1972 when a gay pride march was held in downtown Detroit to both mark the third anniversary of the Stonewall riot in New York, as well demand the repeal of anti-gay laws and full civil rights for gay people. It drew between 200 and 400 people.

Fifty-two years later, the festival and parade has grown to bring out, according to organizers, more than 65,000 attendees over both Saturday and Sunday to see nearly 50 performers on four different stages.

“It’s been just amazing,” Dave Wait, chair of the Motor City Pride festival, told the Michigan Advance. “The people have come out to celebrate pride and also to advocate for full rights and inclusion for all individuals.” .................(more)

https://michiganadvance.com/2024/06/10/motor-city-pride-attracts-record-crowds-for-celebration-and-advocacy/