Celebrating Pride Philly style

Pride Month kicked off in Philadelphia with a massive march of thousands of people from Washington Park at 6th and Walnut Streets to a festival in the Gayborhood at 13th and Locust Streets on June 4. Turnout was the largest ever for a Philadelphia Pride event. Crowds lined the route to chant and cheer on participants. 

Philly Pride 2023. (Credit: Joe Piette)

A highlight of the event was a 20-by-200-foot-long Rainbow Pride Flag carried by hundreds of participants.

The starting location was just blocks from the Liberty Bell — the site of gay rights demonstrations held in the 1960s. Philly Pride March 2023 was organized by Galaei, a radical social-justice organization serving “all Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous and people of color communities.”. 

While celebrating Pride, rally speakers addressed the continued attacks on LGBTQ2S+ people and their rights by right-wing groups across the country. Rally organizers urged solidarity and attendance at protests denouncing a scheduled gathering of the national bigoted, anti-LGBTQ2S+ group “Moms for Liberty” in Philadelphia at the end of June.