Mikel Andrews could hardly believe his eyes when, on Saturday, June 13, he found himself surrounded by tens of thousands of people of all ages, dressed in a rainbow of colors and flooding the streets of Park Slope with joy at the 30th annual edition of Brooklyn Pride.
“I never felt pride in my own home country but here I literally feel it. I feel the word P-R-I-D-E,” Andrews, a dancer who moved to New York from Guyana three months ago, told Gay City News, reveling in his first-ever pride festival in the United States.
“This is something new for us,” he said, repping his home country with a flag on his water bottle in one hand, while holding a rainbow fan in the other. He stood with his friends at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Fourth Street just after 5 p.m., as Brooklyn Pride’s festival began to wind down, making way for the twilight parade, which kicked off two-and-a-half hours later.
“Growing up as a queer child back in my country, we were never allowed to be who we are,” said Josh Mclean, Andrews’ friend, also from Guyana. “To actually be here, to have the community altogether, brothers and sisters, as one is something new for me, and I love it.”
Back in Guyana, organizations like SASOD, the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination, do hold pride events, but they’re not widely accepted, and often attract hecklers, Mclean explained.
Brooklyn Pride’s multicultural festival and parade has taken place on the second weekend in June since 1997. As per tradition, it began with a street fair along Fifth Avenue, while the parade took place along the same route just as the sun began to set. Throughout the day, large crowds gathered at bars and restaurants, often spilling into the street. The line to enter the lesbian institution Ginger’s curved around the block.
While Mikel and Josh celebrated their first-ever pride, many other attendees had been marking the once-a-year tradition since long before.
“You have the kids, you have the families, everybody finds home here, and that’s what counts,” described Tanisha Worrell, from Crown Heights, who has attended Brooklyn Pride for the past decade. Worrell has been joined by her partner, Stacy Morris, from Coney Island, for the past six years.
Together, they participated in the Brooklyn Pride 5K. “It was a slow finish, but we made it,” Worrell said.
Brendan Olson, from Bushwick, has come to the festival since 2021, and enjoys connecting to “something bigger than yourself.”
“I think there’s no love in the world like Brooklyn,” said performer Venus Mystique, who spent the afternoon dancing outside of the cocktail bar 390 Social, for the second year in a row.
As is always the case, a liminal transition period ensued between 5 and 7 p.m., as festival participants began to pack up their tents and the street cleared out in anticipation of the parade.
The parade itself is characterized by the presence of a large number of local public and private schools, and children’s organizations in general, who kicked off the procession. Contingents from PS 133, PS 295, PS 20, Brooklyn Friends School, and more took the lead. A parent in their midst held up a sign reading “my love for my children has no conditions.”
One of the children was 10-year-old Ethan from Bed-Stuy, joined for the fourth year by his mother, Sara Hyjek, marching with the gender-inclusive Brooklyn Scouts.
“I want to set a good example and show him that it’s important to celebrate pride and it’s normal,” his mother said.
The Sirens Women’s-plus Motorcycle Club revved up their engines just in front of the other marchers, as they have been doing at parades for over 40 years — including Queens Pride just last week.
“It’s historically one of our favorites. It’s one of the most community driven prides. Most like grassroots feeling,” the club’s president, Brooke Severance said. The group actually began their day 90 miles north at Poughkeepsie Pride.
Many state and local elected officials also lent their support, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, who committed herself to protecting the trans community. Out City Councilmembers Crystal Hudson and Tiffany Cabán, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, among others, were also in attendance.
Jamie Best and her fiance Elizabeth Ortiz sat on chairs along the sidewalk, decked out in shades of pink and purple, “about as sapphic and queer lesbian as you can get!”, enjoying the freedom that pride brings them.
“We’re very flamboyant people on any given day, so coming out and being with people who are in the same mindset about it [is exciting],” Best said.
In the whimsical spirit of Brooklyn, Archie the “rainbow monster” waved hello to the marchers. A giant puppet handmade from recycled materials visiting from New Orleans on behalf of the Louisiana and Brooklyn-based shop Leroy’s Place, he “is supposed to represent joy and kindness,” explained Serene Bacigalupi.
As the parade kicked off, so did the fifth game of the NBA finals. The Big Apple Marching Band played to the tune of Bad Bunny’s hit “NUEVAYoL,” as revelers began to feel pride — not just in the LGBTQ community, but in the city as a whole.
One marcher started a call-and-response chant: “Brooklyn Pride! Knicks in Five!”
Just over four hours later, the Knicks would win the NBA championships, and the whole city would erupt in celebration.
