What started as a parking lot tailgate party at Fairhaven Park in 2002 is now a full-scale parade down Railroad Avenue. This year, nearly 100 organizations joined the annual event’s festivities Sunday, July 9 in downtown Bellingham.
Although the event is much larger in scale, what pride represents has stayed the same.
“There are a lot of reasons to have a parade — for celebration, victory or protest in resistance. A pride parade is all those things,” said Michelle Harmeier, an organizer for the Pride parade. “We still have members of our community that are not feeling safe and are being discriminated against, so we still have work to do.”
The parade, which drew hundreds to Depot Market Square, came at a time when LGBTQ+ issues are at center stage in the United States.
Since the start of 2023, around 560 anti-trans bills have been introduced — 79 of which have passed — according to Trans Legislation Tracker.
Enacted laws include banning drag shows, stopping parents from seeking gender-affirming care for their children, and restricting transgender athletes from participating in youth sports.
Kendra Valdez — Staff Director for regional union UFCW 3000 — sees the plight of the queer community and labor as one in the same. Queer issues, she said, are part of the fight for workers and human rights, and UFCW has a dedicated group that focuses on its LGBTQ+ members’ problems.
Valdez added it was important for her to bring her two kids to the parade.
“We were talking about what the parade was about in the car on our way up,” Valdez said. “I think exposing them at a young age to all different types of people, ideas and gathering with the community is an important part of not being an individualized society but looking out for the collective good of everyone.”
Gwen Groden, the program coordinator for Whatcom Democrats, also notices the intersectionality of being LGBTQ+ and finding housing in Whatcom County. Groden said the local party has two openly queer candidates running for city office and both are focused on housing as a primary issue.
Housing and health care are the biggest issues the LGBTQ+ community faces, said Jesse Worland, branch secretary for Bellingham Socialist Revolution.
“It’s not, ‘Will there be a transgender character in the next Marvel movie?’ but, ‘Are we going to have housing or health care?’” Worland said. “Are [queer people] going to be able to pay their rent and necessary things like hormone replacement therapy? Things that help queer people survive health-wise.”
Harmeier wants community members to learn not only that queer people are equal to everyone else, but also that reminding people of that equality can be a form of activism. When she is asked how people can help support the queer community, Harmeier’s answer is always to call out bigotry and hatred when it happens in from of them.
“Call it out, educate people and give them time to be compassionate with their learning,” she said.
