For many queer people, pride is the most important event of the year. It’s a time when we get to go and be out in public not just as ourselves, but proud of it. There is no other time of year that is as positive for the queer community. These events can be found all over, and if you’re lucky you can even make it to quite a few each year.
2019 was the year that I was finally able to make it to my first pride event. I decided that I was going to take off work and go have fun even if nobody else went with me. That’s exactly what I did. I had been wanting to attend Mid South Pride for years, but had never really had the opportunity. As I approached the park, I was immediately take back by the amount of people that were there. I hadn’t really expected to see too much in a southern city like Memphis, but this event really showed me that what I had expected was not really the truth.
I started the day by watching a few drag performances from local queens in the small stage at the front of the park. It was actually the first time I saw a drag performance live! A misconception that a lot of people have about drag is that it’s inherently some kind of bad thing, but it really depends on the performer. Seeing all of these girls working so hard to make a living off a strong hobby and with so much talent made me wish that everyone could be seeing what I was.
And that’s the crazy part: there was almost nothing at pride that was inherently “adult”. It’s a lot of people coming together to realize that we’ve all experienced oppression for our queerness. It’s a true act of rebellion to gather together and support one another. It’s a really uplifting experience to walk around a park full of tents, shops, and exhibits that all are here to celebrate queerness. It was great to be able to buy from these (mostly) super small businesses run by the community as well.
Along with just visiting the event, I also signed up to walk in the parade with Starbucks, the company I’ve worked for for the past three years. We had a float with balloons and everything! The day was super hot and the parade felt like it took forever to start, but it was an amazing experience. Here I was in the city I’d grown up in trying to find myself, and I was walking down Beale Street in a pride parade while thousands of people stood watching. A few friends from high school that I’d grown up with saw me, too. It was really nice to go from the only gay kid I knew at one point to being an activist- open and fully proud of who I am.
While pride may seem like just another party or event, it’s way more than that and always will be for me. Whenever I go to pride, I am honoring those early pioneers of equality that made this all possible. I am also paying my respects to those who have lost their lives because they are LGBTQ+ or because they chose to speak out. By attending pride, we are saying to the world: “Here we are. You can not bring us down.”
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