Members of the community and of the San Francisco Pride Board of Directors chose six grand marshals for the parade — Marcel Pardo Ariza, John Weber, Imani Rupert-Gordon, TransThrive, Ms. Bob Davis and Roger Doughty — all of whom have made large strides for the LGBTQ+ community.
This year’s theme “Resistance in Action” came in response to a series of targeted policies against the LGBTQ+ community — the trans community, especially — from President Donald Trump. That includes a ban, ruled illegal by an appeals court, on transgender people serving in the military and attempts to gain access to the medical records of youth who are transgender.
Davis, the founder and director of the Louise Lawrence Transgender Archive in Vallejo, said that this year’s theme, to them, tells all people: “You can’t just stay at home during this crucial period of threat and erasure.”
“You have to be active, you have to do something. The something can be showing up to the Pride Parade, a letter-writing campaign, supporting LGBT ally candidates,” Davis said. “It’s not an era where you can just sit back and relax.”
Rev. Megan Rohrer, the first openly transgender bishop in the US Lutheran Church, marched alongside Davis.
“The more people are angry on the news or in legislation, the more important it is to celebrate joy in every form,” Rohrer said. “First and foremost, we want everyone with a sparkle of fabulousness to live through these policies. Secondly, by lifting up the history and legacy of people resisting, we can remind people of the diverse ways that you can create change or resist change.”
The parade was led by the Dykes on Bikes contingent and flush with Bay Area politicians. House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan, openly gay state Sen. Scott Wiener, Assemblymember Matt Haney, Sen. Alex Padilla and San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie all made their way down the 1.6 mile route.
“The streets were full, the energy was electric, and pride was everywhere you looked,” Lurie wrote on social media about the parade. “This is what our city looks like at its best: open, joyful, and unapologetically itself. San Francisco proudly stands with the LGBTQ+ community, this month and every month.”
Festivities and calls for resistance began even before the weekend got underway. Some marchers scuffled with San Francisco police officers at the annual Trans March on Friday, resulting in five arrests for alleged vandalism, assault or obstruction.
Community members likened SFPD’s actions to the department’s response in the Tenderloin neighborhood decades ago, when transgender patrons of a local diner rioted in response to police brutality in what would become known as a pivotal moment in the birth of the LGBTQ+ rights movement.
“All I know is that, 60 years after SFPD attacked trans people at Compton’s Cafeteria, they once again on the same corner on Trans March during Pride decided to attack, brutalize and arrest trans people,” said Nikki Caballero, who witnessed at least two of the arrests.
Wiener, a prominent proponent of trans rights who is also vying against Chan for Pelosi’s seat, was chased out of Dolores Park by marchers who said he hasn’t taken a sufficiently critical stance on Israel’s actions in Gaza. Wiener declined to call the Israel-Gaza War a genocide at a debate earlier this year, but has since changed his stance.
“I want to be clear that what happened does not represent a majority view of the attendees at the Trans March,” Wiener said. “This is a symptom of an illness in our democracy right now where people somehow think it’s appropriate to engage in harassing behavior towards people that you disagree with.”
The mood was somewhat lighter on Saturday, when other members of the community made calls for resistance at the annual Dyke March and Rally near Dolores Park.
Cyndi Vee, co-chair of the Dyke March’s advisory committee, said that the single day dedicated to one community was important for pride celebrations.
“It’s important to stay visible and to remind them that we will always be here and will continue to be here no matter what they do,” Vee said.
KQED’s Desmond Meagley contributed to this report.
