Denver holds 2nd annual People's Pride March
Denver, CO – On Saturday, June 28, over 200 members of Denver's queer and trans community, along with supporters, gathered at Cheesman Park for a People's Pride March on the 56th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion.
The march was planned by several organizations, including the Bread & Roses Legal Center, Students for a Democratic Society, Jewish Voice for Peace, and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, in response to the official Denver PrideFest celebration, which has been becoming an increasingly commercialized event.
Protesters marched from Cheesman Park to the Colorado State Capitol, the site of Denver's annual PrideFest. On the way, the crowd chanted “We will not be quiet; Stonewall was a riot” and “Fuck your assimilation, we want trans liberation” while blocking intersections. At these intersections the crowd listened to speeches from organizers about, among other things, the increasing commodification of Pride.
“Pride has been co-opted and sold back to us by big businesses that make rainbow cups and call it Pride,” said Salem Chadwick, a rank-and-file Teamster speaking on behalf of FRSO. “Enough with corporate Pride and rainbow capitalism.”
The crowd marched onwards to Denver PrideFest, the official celebration organized primarily by The Center on Colfax, the region's largest LGBTQ community center. The Center has come under heavy criticism for its cooperation with corporate sponsors, such as Chevron and JPMorgan Chase, that are contributing to the genocide in Palestine.
The protesters, although initially blocked by event security, were able to take the main stage at Denver PrideFest and delivered several speeches to the crowd before the microphone volume was reduced to barely audible levels.
“We are here today on the 630th day into the genocide in Gaza”, said Alex Borenstein of Jewish Voice for Peace. “And some of the sponsors of this festival are financing that genocide.”
The crowd appeared very supportive of the action, and the march nearly doubled in size as it made its way back onto the streets and back to Cheesman Park for a brief social gathering before the crowd dispersed.
“It was really cool seeing how supportive the crowd at PrideFest was of our message, and how many of them joined us,” said Katherine Draken after the event. “It shows that queer and trans folks want more than rainbow merchandise, we want real community and real resistance. We should absolutely do this again next year.”