The Memphis Pride Parade kicks off on Beale Street. (Photo: Karen Pulfer Focht)
Pride Month, the annual June celebration of LGBTQ culture, kicked off Saturday in several Tennessee cities.
In Memphis, community members held a parade down historic Beale Street, which is known as “Home of the Blues,” while Franklin Pride held its 4th annual festival featuring entertainment and booths hosted by businesses, religious and nonprofit organizations.
Nashville’s Pride weekend is scheduled for June 22-23 at Bicentennial Mall, with entertainers including Billy Porter, a two-time Tony Award winner for his role in “Kinky Boots” on Broadway and Emmy winner for his role on the TV show “Pose.”
Pride Month was established after the 1969 Stonewall Inn riots, during which patrons of the Greenwich Village bar rebelled against New York City police after a raid of the establishment on June 28, 1969. The first Pride parades were held the next year in several cities across the U.S. as members of the LGBTQ community pushed for greater liberation.
Photojournalist Karen Pulfer Focht photographed the Memphis event.
The post June Pride Month kicks off in Tennessee with parades and festivals appeared first on Tennessee Lookout.