‘In unity, we thrive’: Oakland Pride celebrates LGBT community as Trump tries to erode rights

Thousands of people wore rainbow suits, held colorful flags and danced through the streets Sunday in downtown Oakland to celebrate the annual Pride Festival on its 15th anniversary.  

Sunday’s festivities kicked off with a parade down Broadway, near 21st Street, to Frank Ogawa Plaza, where a ticketed event featured DJs, live performances and speeches from drag queens and politicians. 

The festival included more than 100 booths by vendors and organizations, such as sponsors Gilead, a HIV-focused biotechnology company, tequila brand Patrón, and the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center. Artists spun tunes and played live music at one of three stages set up just outside City Hall. 

Festival organizers said they expected up to 20,000 attendees at the celebration. Though crowds were slow to trickle in early in the day, by the time musical headliners took the stage, the plaza center was packed. 

George J. Smith III, board president of Oakland Pride, the nonprofit behind the event, said the theme of the festival, “In Unity, We Thrive,” is a direct response to the fraught political climate for LGBTQ+ individuals in the wake of President Donald Trump’s reelection and crackdown on transgender rights. 

“I’m hoping to give everybody a sense of belonging,” Smith said. “It feels good when we’re together, so we should really fight together, too. This is our gift to Oakland.”

U.S. Rep. Lateefah Simon promised the crowd to fight on behalf of the queer community, particularly trans children. 

“Pride started out as an opportunity for queer folks all over the country to take up as much space as possible to claim our rightful place in the world,” she said. “Our rights are not up for debate.”

DJ artist David Harness led a nonstop dance party that paid tribute to historical gay “tea dances,” a Sunday afternoon tradition in the queer culture dating to the 1950s. Nearby, Mexican singer and actor Christian Chávez performed hits from his 2000s pop group RBD, while Oakland rapper Kamaiyah and legendary dance music artists CeCe Peniston and Martha Wash performed at the main stage. Wash, a former member of iconic disco duo The Weather Girls, closed out the festival with a rendition of the duo’s 1983 hit “It’s Raining Men,” while the crowd screamed along.

There also was a health pavilion, with information on public health services, COVID-19 and diabetes testing, and vaccinations for COVID-19 and Mpox. And a kid’s area, with a booth by Drag Story Hour, which organizes children’s literary events by drag queens and kings. 

For queen Per Sia, a founding member of Drag Story Hour, Oakland Pride was another opportunity to celebrate the organization’s 10 years of existence, despite conservative backlash. In 2022, a Drag Story Hour event in San Lorenzo was disrupted by aggressive protests from the Proud Boys, an alt-right extremist group.

“They try to erase us, but clearly we’re not going anywhere — look at all the fabulous people here,” Per Sia said. 

People praised the “hometown” feel of Oakland Pride, with some saying they preferred it to the larger, more famous San Francisco Pride.

“It’s a little bit more low-key than pride over in the city, and it just feels more like a hometown and less like a corporate, rainbow-washing event,” said Earl Jefferson, who has attended Oakland Pride for the last three years.

Event volunteer Cata Stewart, a 63- year-old health care worker from Alameda, agreed. 

“This year, it’s been so supportive,” she said. “People are just friendly, talking to you, not standoffish. It feels like family — it feels like unity.”

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