LGBTQ

Trailblazers 

Dallas observed its first gay pride celebration in June 1972, and the next parade wasn’t until 1980.

While cities across the world observe pride in June to commemorate the Stonewall Riots in New York City, Dallas Pride was always in September to honor a 1982 court ruling against Texas’ anti-sodomy laws. The ruling was later overturned, and consensual sodomy was illegal in Texas until 2003, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on it. 

Sign up for our newsletter!

* indicates required

The September tradition stuck, however.

While New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. got their pride on every June, Dallas collectively experienced FOMO, the fear of missing out.

But not anymore. 

The Dallas Tavern Guild, the collective of Oak Lawn business owners who took over what is now the Alan Ross Texas Freedom Parade in 1982, handed the parade over to Dallas Pride, a newly formed nonprofit, last year.

This year, Dallas Pride is in June, and it’s moving from Cedar Springs to Fair Park.

The new setup allows for more parade entries. Previously, Dallas police restricted the parade to 100 because there is a limit on how long the street can be closed. 

And Fair Park can accommodate more vendors than Reverchon Park.

The 2019 celebration commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots with the theme “Stonewall strong, Dallas proud.”

In a nod to the new Dallas Pride, we talked to neighbors who were around in the early days of pride and the local LGBTQ struggle. 

Meet the LGBTQ Trailblazers

The Entrepreneur

The Advocate 

The Fighter