Sacramento Pride celebrates LGBTQ progress. But some say movement hasn’t ‘come far enough’

Sacramento celebrated LGBTQ visibility and community with a Pride parade Sunday that also drew political protests from those who believe the queer movement hasn’t come far enough.

The parade marked the second day of a weekend-long city celebration in honor of Pride month. Thousands marched in the parade and cheered along the route, which started at Southside Park and ended on 10th Street near the Capitol.

There was no shortage of rainbow flags in the parade, which featured a diverse group, including political figures, motorcyclists, corgis, Bank of America and the Sacramento Gay Men’s Chorus.

For some, the parade was a chance to show the power of queer Californians at a time when far-right groups are pushing anti-LGBTQ policies, such as those forcing the outing of transgender students in schools. On Saturday night, a Christian march and rally at the Capitol took on an anti-LGBTQ tone, although organizers denied they arranged the events to coincide with Pride weekend.

For others, the parade was a hollow corporate expression at a time when the LGBTQ community should be fighting for other oppressed groups, such as the Palestinians affected by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Priya Kumar, a spokeswoman for Sacramento Pride Weekend, noted the “many projects and groups that are organizing to take away LGBTQ rights and roll back all of the progress that we have been making.

“I think it’s really important for this type of demonstration to be here and be seen, and to show how much it’s grown,” Kumar said.

She said she recognizes that “Pride started as a riot. It started as a demonstration against the oppressive forces.”

“Now, we’ve come to (2024) and there are a lot of sponsors, and we do have a lot of corporations here,” Kumar said. “But they are here to showcase their commitment to the LGBTQ community, and we are here to help showcase that.”

Bruce and Deb Lumbert of Reno came to the parade carrying a sign that said, “God blessed us with a gay son. Now let our son bless us with a son-in-law.” They also displayed an additional sign that said, “We are getting a son-in-law.”

Bruce Lumbert said “Star Trek” star George Takei autographed the original sign when the couple was protesting against California’s Proposition 8, a 2008 ballot measure banning same-sex marriage.

Deb Lumbert said the situation for LGBTQ people has “gotten better, but I don’t want to see it get worse. That’s what we’re afraid of.”

Nick Kimutis, the Lumberts’ son, lives in Sacramento and is preparing to marry his fiance, Brian Young, this summer.

“I’m very grateful to live in California,” Kimutis said. “I think that outside of the state, it could be very scary.”

Near the start of the parade route, a group of demonstrators held a banner that read “No pride in genocide” and urged President Joe Biden and U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla to stop funding the war in Gaza.

Activist Jessica Lawless said she and the other protesters didn’t want to be complicit in what they view as corporate Pride “pinkwashing.”

“We must move beyond the politics of visibility,” Lawless said. “Because visibility to what end?”

Emily Majluf of Queers for Palestine said the group wasn’t against the parade, but demonstrators were providing “an additional voice” and not marching alongside corporations they view as “funding genocide.” The fight for LGBTQ liberation is one that should intersect and intertwine with the Black Lives Matter and Palestinian movements, Majluf said.

“It’s great to celebrate Pride today, and how far we’ve come,” Majluf said. “But we haven’t come far enough.”