A crosswalk is intended as a zone of protection, for traffic to stop and allow pedestrians safe passage. The city’s new rainbow crosswalks around the intersection of North Main Avenue and East Evergreen Street might be seen to represent a small “pride parade” of safety and recognition each time someone crosses the street.
On Saturday, the 15th annual “Pride Bigger Than Texas” parade marched down the LGBTQIA-friendly “Main Strip” toward the new crosswalks, with a colorful display of San Antonio’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transexual, queer/questioning, intersexual, and asexual population and its supporters.
The day’s celebration began at 11 a.m. with a festival in Crockett Park that continued through 7 p.m. Featured entertainment included Latina comic Sandra Valls, who emceed the event.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar and Bruno “Ralphy” Lozano, mayor of Del Rio, Texas, served as co-grand marshals for the 2018 parade. Salazar is a “staunch ally” of the Pride community, according to OutInSA, and was quoted there as saying the LGBTQIA population in the San Antonio is “sizeable … bigger than we even know.”
The variety among the 133 scheduled parade participants demonstrated Salazar’s assertion, as well as the issues, political reach, and economic power of the local LGBTQIA community. Among the participants were advocacy group Dignity San Antonio, the Veterans Administration, Marriott Hotels, and Bank of America.
Other participants included City Council members Roberto Treviño (D1), in whose district the parade occurred, Cruz Shaw (D2), Rebecca Viagran (D3), Rey Saldaña (D4), Ana Sandoval (D7), Manny Pelaez (D8), and John Courage (D9). State Sen. José Menéndez (D-San Antonio), State Reps. Ina Minjarez (D-San Antonio) and Diego Bernal (D-San Antonio), and Mayor Ron Nirenberg, who served as grand marshal i n 2017, also took part.
“San Antonio has a long and proud history of being a birthplace for American civil rights,” Nirenberg said via phone from Austin on Friday, where he attended a conference on fatherhood.
“We have always pushed through sometimes difficult national politics to set an example of compassion and the embrace of diversity,” he added.
Another wonderful, affirming, powerful Pride SA is in the books! I’m looking forward to Pride 2019 already!
The Pride parade has grown so much over the years as well as the crowd attending it. There are so many participant company/employee groups that it is now interesting to notice who is NOT participating (especially considering the importance of the local LGBTQIA community as both customers and employees of companies). USAA, Citi, Wells Fargo, etc., were there, but not Frost Bank. Target was there, but not H-E-B. Chipotle and Starbucks were there, but not Whataburger. Andeavor (formerly Tesoro) was there, but not NuStar or Valero.
H-E-B was burned before for giving a $600 donation to a pride event once. Bigots picketed one of their Northside stores. That’s right. A measly $600.
Now they prove their corporate cowardice by staying away from anything related.
oh wow good point… you are right it is probably the first big event that I went to that HEB wasn’t present. WOW. telling.
Meanwhile HUZZAH City and County people. You made me proud!
It is interestimg to note that the “pride side” uses a biblical symbol of the rainbow as their mascot. Refer to Genesis Chapter 8 & 9, God’s covenant with Noah.
Which part do you speak of exactly? The “be fruitful and multiply” part we’ve heard many a time to condemn us? Or the “God made man in his own image” part? Because all these people were made in God’s image. Oh and way to trivialize the rainbow as “their mascot.” That’s in no way condescending at all *eye roll*. It embodies so much more, including freedom from the hatred that long plagued many in the LGBT community, often by the very people they loved and trusted and people who claimed to follow Christ.
Try referring to I John 2:9-11 instead.
The rainbow is a “biblical symbol”? Really? Funny, I thought it was merely a natural phenomenon caused by the dispersion of light by water droplets. Isn’t the fish a biblical symbol? Are you upset that Long John Silver’s fast-food franchise uses a fish symbol for its greasy food? WWJD?
From what ive read and heard quoted from the Bible, best to stay away from that Satanic Diary.