Thousands of LGBT activists are gathering at an unsanctioned Pride parade in Chicago.
The city’s parade was canceled because of fears of the spread of the coronavirus, but activists gathered on Sunday anyway at the “Reclaim Pride March,” which partnered the causes of Pride and the Black Lives Matter movement. Alexis Abarca, an activist who attended the march, told ABC 7 that the two movements are both advocating for an end to police brutality and racial injustice.
“Every year we continue to say, yeah let’s go out to Pride, let’s go out to celebrate, but all the time we forget to highlight the fact that Black trans women are still out there and we still need justice and still need a lot of resources,” Abarca said.
Aerial footage from the event showed thousands of attendees at the march. Many on Twitter expressed concern about the potential for the coronavirus to spread between marchers in Chicago, though many of the activists appeared to be wearing masks.
LIVE: Aerial footage shows massive crowds rallying to celebrate #Pride in Chicago pic.twitter.com/06GbKtqP8l
— Bloomberg QuickTake (@QuickTake) June 28, 2020
Since the #pandemic forced the cancellation of #Chicago’s annual #Pride parade, thousands are gathering on the North Side to “reclaim pride,” by staging a protest on behalf of #BlackTransLivesMatter, and denounce the corporatization of Pride celebrations. @WGNNews pic.twitter.com/XmD2iT96cv
— Mike Lowe (@MikeLoweReports) June 28, 2020
Don’t worry. i’ve been assured that there is no chance these types of gatherings lead to spikes in COVID-19 cases. https://t.co/whOwZHlMAQ
— (((AG))) (@AGHamilton29) June 28, 2020
Illinois has not fully reopened yet. Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the state may wait until a vaccine is present to allow gatherings of more than 50 people in places such as churches and theaters.
