Utah residents, including members of Salt Lake Community College, once again took to the capital’s streets on Sunday morning for the state’s annual Pride Parade.
Above a canopy of rainbow balloons, air-blown bubbles, Pride flags and waving hands rang a cacophony of bells and shouts of joyous chants. The parade began where 100 South dead ends into West Temple Boulevard. The colorful procession first headed east and then went south along 400 East, and then west on 700 South, ending on 200 East.
SLCC’s involvement in the Parade goes back over a decade. President of the college, Dr. Deneece Huftalin, joined the march and was flanked by her leadership cabinet as well as other faculty, staff and students. Any SLCC member who wanted to join the college in the parade could sign up beforehand.
The college’s Cheer Squad led the SLCC section, keeping the crowd entertained with rehearsed routines and gymnastic stunts. One young participant dazzled spectators with breakdancing, and even stopped to do it in-step with two people who had brought their drum sets to the curb.
Alex Martinez, a graphic designer for SLCC’s digital marketing department, walked with the SLCC during the parade. He cheered when one of the sideline announcers shouted “you belong here” through a megaphone, SLCC’s motto for Pride Month.
For Martinez, who on Sunday experienced his first-ever Pride Parade, having a parade at all is about more than just acceptance – it’s about love for his fellow LGBTQIA+ community.
“We see people not really loving the [queer] community, as sad as it sounds,” said Martinez. “But today [is important] because when you walk … and see so many people saying ‘I love you!’ and holding signs of support, it means a lot.”
Over 170 groups chartered floats in the parade, including Delta Airlines, Equality Utah and Planned Parenthood of Utah. Each group designed their own Pride gear, showing personalized support for the queer community, which makes up at least 5.9% of the U.S. workforce, according to the Williams Institute.
“It’s important for us to be visible,” said Bree Taylor-Lof (Mx.) of Utah Friends, Allies and Mentors – a nonprofit that works toward making Utah schools more inclusive — about the group’s presence in the Pride Parade.
“As educators here, we come from a lot of different backgrounds,” they said. “Some of us are queer, transgender or allies. And so, it sends the message to students and families that there are educators that are in their corner. We’re here for them, we’ll fight for them.”
Keeping with prior celebrations, thousands of supporters attended the parade by its conclusion at noon.
