Every time Pride rolls around, rainbows pop up everywhere — in ads, store windows and all across social media. It feels like a season, a reminder of how far we have come.
But in today’s political climate, where our rights are under attack from every corner of the government, and where corporations are quietly backing away from diversity and inclusion commitments, and where even rainbow crosswalks are being painted over, we CANNOT take Pride for granted.
Pride is not just about parades or parties. It is about resistance, visibility and community. And right now, it is about responsibility … OUR responsibility!
In cities across the country, rainbow crosswalks are being removed. The reasons sound bureaucratic: safety codes, budgets, “neutrality.”
But when those crosswalks were first installed, they were not about traffic safety. They were about sending a message: the message that LGBTQ people belong here.
So when they are erased, that sends a message as well — that our belonging is conditional and our visibility is expendable.
A painted crosswalk might seem like a small thing, but symbols matter. Erasing them is the first step in trying to erase us.
That is why we cannot shrug it off, why we have to push back. We can’t do this just with words. We have to actually show up, proudly and unapologetically, in our neighborhoods and on our streets.
We all have seen the corporate world retreating. Not that long ago, every major brand seemed eager to prove its allyship: rainbow logos everywhere, big Pride campaigns, corporate commitments to DEI.
Now, after pressure from conservatives and threats from the White House, those same companies are scaling back. Pride merch gets cut. DEI programs disappear. Executives who once spoke out now stay quiet. (and we see it!)
Let’s be real, y’all: Corporate support was never the foundation of the LGBTQ movement. Pride was born in defiance, not sponsorship. Still, when companies pull back, it shows us just how conditional that “support” always was. It’s easy to wave a rainbow flag when it boosts sales, but it’s much harder to do it when it actually costs something.
If our visibility and our celebrations depend on corporations, we are in trouble. We cannot outsource Pride.
That means the work comes back to us, to our own community and our allies, those who know that allyship is not seasonal. WE are the ones who keep Pride visible, powerful and inclusive!
For me, that is personal. Through my work with both The Dallas Voice and the Cedar Springs Merchants Association, I see every day how local businesses carry Pride on their shoulders all year long. Take the Cedar Springs Wine Walk, for example. Yes, it is about sipping a glass of red or white, but it is also about walking together, supporting the shops and restaurants that have stood with us through good times and bad. Watching neighbors laugh, shop and connect on Cedar Springs is Pride in action.
Supporting LGBTQ-owned businesses is more than a transaction. It is an investment in each other. These places create safe spaces, reinvest in our community and keep the Gayborhood alive.
It also means backing local LGBTQ organizations —Resource Center to Dallas Hope Charities, HIV/AIDS services to advocacy groups like HELP, CAN Community Health, Prism, AHF, ASD. These folks do the daily work of protecting and advancing our community when politics and profits fall short. These amazing organziations depend on our donations, our time and our voices.
It also means remembering that Pride belongs to all of us: Trans folks, people of color, immigrants, people with disabilities, rural queer folks — everyone whose voices have too often been pushed aside, even inside our own community.
If we are not lifting everyone, we are not really lifting anyone.
Those who want to roll back our rights are COUNTING ON division. We see it in laws and policies that target and try to erase trans people, the constant attacks and lies about big scary drag queens, book bans and the push to strip away inclusive policies. Their goal is always the same: They want to isolate us fracture us and, ultimately, erase us.
I know we’re smarter than this. I paid attention in history class. Stonewall was not about one group of people. It was about a whole community rising TOGETHER. Marriage equality was not won by one single person; it was a movement of many unified voices. Every Pride celebration should remind us that we are stronger together than apart.
Now is the time we must use our voices. Pride isn’t just a fun parade and festival. It’s about how we vote, spend our money and support each other. It’s about how we must refuse to be erased!
Pride has always been about toughness. But it’s also about finding the joy who we are, even through resistance. Pride is saying, “We are here; we matter, and we are not going back!”
Political winds may shift. (I’m crossing my fingers that they do). Corporations may retreat, and some symbols may fade. But make NO mistake, PRIDE IS NOT THEIRS TO GIVE OR TAKE! It belongs to US, and it’s up to us to protect it, nurture it and LIVE it — not for one month of the year but every damn day!
Personally, whether I’m working with the Cedar Springs Merchants Association on the Wine Walk or using the platform of Dallas Voice to magnify voices, the mission is the same: Be loud, be proud and work together.
So as we enjoy this Pride in Dallas weekend, I encourage you to keep marching, keep shouting and, most importantly, keep supporting each other however we can. Because Pride is not going anywhere as long as WE keep it alive.
See ya at the parade; I’ll be the super gay one! Please say ‘Hi!’ `
Chad Mantooth is associate publisher and advertising director at Dallas Voice. He also sits on the board of the Cedar Springs Merchants Association and heads up the Cedar Springs Wine Walk.