Rage Monthly on a Million Moments of Pride and Stonewall at 50

Rage Monthly opened its May 13, 2019, preview of our 36th celebration with a history lesson, and we were glad it did. Writer Tim Parks used the 2019 theme, “A Million Moments of Pride,” along with “Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Stonewall,” to remind readers why the weekend exists at all.

Parks described the theme as a way to honor milestones, both personal and shared, that have moved our community toward equality. He then walked through the June 1969 raid on the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village and the days of protest that followed. He also pointed to uprisings before and after it, including Compton’s Cafeteria in San Francisco in 1966 and the Black Cat in Los Angeles in 1967.

A Pause Before the Party

The heart of the piece was a simple request.

So while you are out celebrating your own personal victories during Long Beach Pride, take a moment to stop and think of those who came before.

Tim Parks, Rage Monthly

Remember too, the work is ongoing and that it’s a legacy that still needs to be fashioned as we move forward.

Tim Parks, Rage Monthly

We could not have said it better. Every year we try to hold joy and memory together, and the Stonewall anniversary made that feel especially important in 2019.

What the Weekend Held

The preview covered the practical side, too. The festival ran May 18 and 19, 2019, and Rage called it the country’s third largest Pride, with more than 80,000 people expected and over 200 floats and marching groups in the parade. The parade stepped off at 10:30 a.m. on Ocean Boulevard after a 9:30 a.m. pre-parade show by Bixby Park, with announcers including Jewels, Cory Allen, LaDawn Best and Missy Vee.

Rage also introduced our 2019 grand marshals: Kate Linder, Delta Work, Equality California, Megan Kerr, Karina Samala, Mario Ernesto Gonzalez and Oliver Nieto, each with a short profile.

Thank you to Rage Monthly for giving our theme the depth it deserved.

Read the full story at Rage Monthly.