Pride as Protest Since 1776
And Some Took It Literally
Boston’s 56th annual Pride parade filled the streets Saturday as the Pride for the People festivities drew crowds estimated at up to a million people, with marchers winding from Copley Square to an all-ages festival on Boston Common. Roughly 12,000 marchers and 300 organizations took part.
This year’s theme “Pride as Protest Since 1776” nodded to the nation’s 250th birthday, and organizers leaned into it. “LGBTQ people have been around before and since 1776,” Boston Pride for the People president Adrianna Boulin said at a Friday press conference outside the Boston Public Library, crediting their courage for making today’s visibility possible.
The parade stepped off at 11 a.m., with Governor Maura Healey, Senator Ed Markey, and Mayor Michelle Wu joining organizers for the ceremonial ribbon cutting. “This is a place that has always stood up for truth, for what we need in the future, and for doing what’s right,” Wu said.
Not every elected official got a warm welcome. Rep. Seth Moulton, whose 2024 comments about trans youth remain top of mind for many advocates, was booed by critics as he walked the route. Videos circulating on social media showed crowds jeering Moulton with chants of “Trans lives matter” as he smiled and waved; the congressman is giving up his sixth district seat to challenge Markey for Senate.
The political contrast was hard to miss. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll marched alongside Healey, one of two openly lesbian governors in the country, telling the crowd, “In a place like Massachusetts, you’re seen, you’re heard, you’re appreciated”. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, who also marched. Healey, speaking along the route, said, “With what’s going on in the country right now, we need this... I want people to know if you come to Massachusetts you’ll be safe, you can live openly”.
Organizers billed the event as the largest Pride celebration and empowerment event in New England, and attendees emphasized that it remains as much a demonstration as a celebration — a point underscored by the parade’s trans memorial. Boulin told WBUR the memorial contingent, in which marchers carry photos of transgender people who have died, is for her the most meaningful part of the parade — a way to say their names and ensure they’re not forgotten.
The route’s floats, banners, and handmade signs ranged from sharp political messages to humor and encouragement. On the Common, the festival featured performers headlined by hip-hop duo Flyana Boss and some 250 vendors, while Pride street fairs on Saint James Avenue ran both Saturday and Sunday. The whole celebration came a week earlier than usual to make way for World Cup festivities beginning across Massachusetts next week.
