Portland for Palestine shouts down corporations complicit with genocide at Pride parade
Portland, OR – Portland for Palestine (P4P) gathered in the late morning of Sunday, July 19, along Natio Parkway in Portland to join in celebrating queerness during Portland’s Pride parade, and to name and shame parade contingents who participate and enable Israel’s occupation and genocide in Palestine.
The parade was marshaled by Dykes on Bikes, throwing their choppers into full throttle to rapturous applause. As the parade contingents passed by the Portland for Palestine group, they were greeted with the message of “Happy Pride and free Palestine,” which was mostly met with joyful solidarity.
But as the grocery store corporation Fred Meyer began crossing onto SW Ankeny Street, P4P began chanting, “Fred Meyer out of pride! You retail a genocide.” P4P organizer Judas Graves took to the megaphone, shaming Fred Meyer for actively promoting the Israeli fizz-baron SodaStream and for profiting off retail goods produced in illegal settlements.
As the parade moved onward, airlines, retailers and banks all caught condemnation for continuing their operations in the apartheid state. Nike, Columbia Sportswear, Daimler, Marriott, Jacobs Solutions, and JPMorgan Chase were all highlighted.
It’s been a longtime criticism of Pride events that corporate participation dilutes the original message of queer visibility and liberation. Many spectators joined in the public shaming, echoing “Free, free Palestine” on both sides of the street. Many were shocked to learn just how complicit these companies are; “That’s so fucked” yelled one young man covered in body glitter.
“I definitely feel conflicted,” said 24-year-old parade-goer Alexis Sonner, “I came out here today to be gay, look hot, and dance with my friends. The last thing I wanna do is validate JPMorgan.”
As queer folks in the United States face erosion of civil liberties and physical safety, it is abundantly clear that members of Portland for Palestine are far from the only people who want to see, not just Pride events, but everything divested from corporations and genocide.