Motor City Pride celebrates 53 years of uplifting LGBTQ+ community

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Motor City Pride celebrated 53 years of LGBTQ+ community and revelry this weekend in downtown Detroit's Hart Plaza, bringing together people of every ethnicity and type from near and far to live their truths and honor those who made it possible.
Jai Rodriguez, an Emmy-winning original cast member of reality show 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,' served as celebrity grand marshal during the annual parade along Griswold on Sunday afternoon. The parade attracted thousands of participants and spectators.
Rodriguez, who spent 10 days in Detroit in 2011 for a guest role on ABC's 'Detroit 1-8-7,' spoke fondly of the Motor City and the importance of Pride.
'I grew up very Evangelical,' he said. 'No TV, no secular music. I didn't have any access or knowledge of what it was like to be authentically myself in the late 1990s. The internet was new and for rich people, in my mind, and so I really had to rely on family of choice. Five years later, I got this massive TV show, 'Queer Eye,' and a lot of folks forget that we weren't always welcomed in every space. In season one, a lot of major brands didn't want to work with us because we had the word 'queer' in our title.
'But I had this crazy experience of the world celebrating us at large. We had no social media at that time, so what we saw was a lot of positivity, especially from conservative folks who thoroughly enjoyed our program – they just didn't think it was OK for us to marry. Difficult conversations launched during the first Trump presidency, and we saw a lot of rhetoric build against the community. I think we all got really comfortable during the Obama presidency, when the White House was lit up rainbow and we had marriage equality. It seemed like the fight had been won, but there's still so much more to do.'
Rodriguez said the only grooming he experienced as a child was through the church drilling into him how to be 'a good, straight, Christian man.'
'Queer people have never been a threat,' he said. 'We are not innately dangerous. We are just as magical and just as flawed as anyone else.'
Attendees of all ages beamed from ear to ear when asked about their experience at the festival.
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'It's been nice,' said Mandy Ware, an African American senior citizen using a walker who only described her age as 'much older than I look.'
'It's been nice just being with people that are friendly, and just being themselves, and not judging.'
Young couple Stephanie Roberson and Tyler Danielak called the experience 'fantastic.'
'Everyone's been so great, so welcoming, so expressive,' said Danielak, 'and it's so nice to see everyone from different walks of life and different experiences and cultures. You've got furries, you've got the gay community, just everyone coming together.'
The pair took advantage of free 'chosen family' portraits that were offered at the Rocket Mortgage booth.
Rocket Companies creative director Joy Crocker talked about why it was important for the company to present a chosen family photo op this year.
'At Rocket,' she said, 'our mission is to help everyone home, and that means everyone − all of our communities, including the LGBTQ+ community. Last year, here at Pride, we asked the community what means home to them, and we … learned that home is belonging. It's acceptance, and ultimately, chosen family, the people who support you for all the parts of you. And we know chosen family is particularly important for this community, because blood family doesn't always show up.
'However, chosen family is something everyone can relate to, not just this community, and we think that's beautiful. So this is our way of showing up and letting the community know that we believe it deserves the same amount of respect and honor and documentation as blood family. It's so common that we'll see family portraits hanging in someone's home, but you don't always see chosen family portraits, even though that feeling is exactly the same.'
JP, aged 76, is one of the founders of Motor City Pride.
'I know where I have instant family,' he said. 'This marks my 58 years in the life. I've been out since 1967, and in 1972, I was part of the group that built this. It's been a pleasure to watch it grow.'
Quinn Jacob and Rachel Paulin are a young couple who are cast members in Ferndale's Ringwald Theatre's all-adult production of 'Annie,' currently running through June 30. The musical's theme of finding chosen family after great hardship hits particularly close to home during Pride Month.
'It's very humbling and inspiring,' said Jacob, 'to revisit our ancestors and the people who made all of this possible today, and every Pride Month. It's very moving to see where we came from and then where we are today.'
Metro Detroit transgender advocacy nonprofit Stand With Trans also had a booth at the event, manned by board member John Davis-Piotrowski.
'Visibility is the biggest thing, I think, 'he said. 'Being able to be part of not only the trans community, but the LGBTQ community allies' families. That's something Stand With Trans has always been about – making sure that we're on that journey, both for trans members, but also their families and, again, allies, any supporters of the trans community. Just being out here and being able to see all of the community members who want to come up and talk about the services we've helped them with, or showing them that they're able to refer their families to us … that's the biggest reason we're out here.'
Trans attendees Jill, Suzumebachi and Kelly, all of whom stopped by the Stand With Trans booth, spoke about the event's importance. All three said they moved to Detroit in the last few years from red states seeking safety.
'To me," said Suzumebachi, "Pride means casting off the shackles of Christo-fascist white supremacy and colonialism.'
'We're still here, no matter what's happening outside,' said Kelly.
Suzumebachi cited ancient historical research.
'We're a demographic humanity,' she said. 'People who are queer have existed for thousands of years. You know, there are records of us going back to Sumeria, and they've been trying to eradicate those for the last millennium or so, unsuccessfully, and so we're just proving that point again and again.'
Rodriguez summed it up by recognizing the origins of Pride events nationwide.
'Pride started as a protest,' he said, 'a gathering of individuals who were sick of sitting on the sidelines not having equal rights. Today, the spirit of our LGBTQIA+ ancestors were very much with us. We are reminded we can recharge our emotional batteries, find community and protest injustice at every Pride we attend.
'All while doing it fabulously.'
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Motor City Pride celebrates 53 years of uplifting LGBTQ+ community