Queer Joy + Jubilation. Family + Friends. Performance + Protest.

We welcome it all. 

Boston Pride for the People’s mission is to amplify the beauty, rich diversity, unique culture, and intersectionality of the LGBTQ+ community. The 2024 Parade, Festival, and Block Party will do that in many ways. A crowd of over 1,000,000+ is expected to visit the city for the festivities. 

We have over 300 contingents signed up to march, with nearly 15,000 people celebrating in their own way from Copley Square through the South End, before spilling into the festival at Boston Common. They come from all walks of life: community organizations, youth agencies, schools, small businesses, faith institutions, big companies, advocacy groups, individuals and many others. 

The beauty of how we live our truth as LGBTQ+ people will be on full display – In Living Color.

Starting at 12:00 noon, the Festival on the Common will include over 200 vendors eager to interact with attendees. Entertainment on the main stage will be featured throughout the day.  The Block Party at City Hall Plaza gets jumping at 2:00pm, for anyone 21+, with more vendors and entertainment. 

At PRIDE, everyone belongs. 

We are a young grassroots organization which still has a lot to learn and much more growing to do. We  invite anyone who wants to be part of this movement to join us. Be a part of one of our many committees, or sign up as a member of our large group of volunteers that makes Pride happen. We hear requests and calls for action on many fronts for Boston Pride for the People, and we welcome your input and participation. Boston Pride for the People is committed to ongoing dialogue as we support, highlight, and celebrate the New England LGBTQ+ community.

Honoring Our Ancestors

This year’s theme is a celebration of the extraordinary resilience of queer people everywhere, with a special nod to newly minted ancestors who left us this past year. People like Ann Maguire, Orlando Del Valle, Dermot Meagher, Nina Love, Larry Kessler, and others. Most were born when television and the world were seen only in “black and white.” Their generation sped through historic change, from rotary dial to facial recognition phones, Yellow Pages to Google, Stonewall riots to ACT UP die-ins, Harvey Milk to queer Governors and Senators. They watched it all happen while making a difference for our community, living authentically. 

May they and all our queer ancestors rest in power.

Solidarity With All Queer People 

Ancestors, being human, always leave work for us to take up and move forward. A part of that work entails building solidarity across differences, distance, religion, race, culture, and history – at home and abroad.

Even as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of gaining access to marriage in Massachusetts, there are many places in the U.S. and around the world where LGBTQ+ people do not feel safe. 

Here in the United States, we see a growing backlash against the advancement LGBTQ+ people have made. Hundreds of laws are being proposed – and many signed into law – that seek to restrict queer lives, especially our trans and gender diverse siblings. At the same time, we continue to be stripped of bodily autonomy and equal rights.

In Massachusetts, we have strong support from our elected officials at every level. But that is not the case everywhere in the country. We stand with queer communities across the U. S. and commit to supporting them, however we can.

Throughout the world, even more dire circumstances exist in LGBTQ+ communities. According to the Human Dignity Trust, 64 countries have jurisdictions which criminalize same-sex, consensual sexual activity, including: Africa – 31 countries, the most of any region; the Americas – 5 countries, all Caribbean; Asia – 23 countries, the majority of which are in the Middle East; the Pacific – 6 countries.

Uganda, Afghanistan, Indonesia, El Salvador, Iran, Egypt, Libya, Jamaica, Malaysia, Iraq, Brunei, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, and many others. All 64 jurisdictions criminalize queer men, and 40 criminalize queer women. Twelve of them include the death penalty as a possible sentence (with six of them implementing it). Life imprisonment is a possibility in eight. 

In some places, LGBTQ+ people aren’t criminalized explicitly, but laws and policies harshly oppress us nonetheless – Russia, Poland, Hungary, Chechnya, for example. The ongoing oppression of LGBTQ+ people around the globe rarely gets attention in U.S. media. Much remains uncovered. 

A Call for Ceasefire + Release of Hostages in Gaza

Criminalization is not the only reason queer people in other countries feel unsafe. The war in the Middle East, for example, is at the top of our minds at the moment, as with many in the community.

There are LGBTQ+ people in Gaza and Israel, all of whom deserve to live freely and with dignity. Neither queer Palestinians, queer Israelis, nor anyone else directly affected by this war feels safe right now.

It is difficult to understand the horrific toll of the ongoing bombing that is resulting in thousands of deaths in Gaza or the brutality of the attack on October 7th of last year. Ultimately, this historic conflict must find a diplomatic solution that embraces liberation for all. 

Right now, humanitarian aid is lacking In Gaza, leading to malnourishment and potential famine among the Palestinian people. And there are still Israeli and American hostages, as well as detained Palestinians,  who are being held against their will. Basic human rights are being abrogated. 

Boston Pride for the People firmly joins a growing and diverse chorus of organizations and individuals who support an immediate ceasefire in this war and the release of every hostage.  

As dehumanization and hate become rampant, we reaffirm our solidarity with the Palestinian people, our abhorrence of anti-Semitism in all its forms, and stand firmly against genocide.

Boston Pride for the People hears daily from many passionate LGBTQ+ community members with differing views on whether or how we should publicly embrace opposing narratives about this conflict. We know that this conversation will not end soon. Consequently, we commit to holding space for more dialogue within the LGBTQ+ community. 

All of us must further educate ourselves about the history of this conflict and grow our capacity to influence a long-term, equitable solution. 

About Our Sponsors

Boston Pride for the People takes corporate social responsibility seriously and therefore reviews all potential corporate sponsors and partners using four assessment instruments:  1) Data for Progress & Zero for Zeros (to identify corporations who donate to anti-LGBTQ and anti-reproductive rights legislators); 2) As You Sow (racial equity tracker); 3) The HRC index; 4) Violation Tracker & Corp Watch.

We understand that these are not all perfect systems. But we do take pride in doing extensive research before accepting donations from any sponsors. This year alone we have rejected thousands of dollars from sponsors that did not meet our qualifications. We welcome community feedback as we evaluate expanding our criteria and welcome any suggestions on ways in which we can improve. 

Safety at Boston’s LGBTQ+ Pride Celebrations 

Hosting an uplifting celebration for the LGBTQ+ community and allies where people can feel safe is our primary goal.  The recent State Department alert regarding potential threats at international Pride festivals is an important reminder that LGBTQ+ people must always be vigilant. We want to reassure everyone that the safety and well-being of all participants in the BP4TP Parade,  Festival, and Block Party activities are of highest priority to the organizing committee.

Throughout our community’s history, nonviolent protest has been a foundation of advancing LGBTQ+ equality. Basic civil rights, HIV/AIDS, hate crimes, marriage equality, transgender rights - queer people have walked the path of nonviolent protest that has made and continues to make the United States a better place for all of us. We welcome all voices into Pride festivities, in many forms of nonviolent protest, including as marchers in the parade. All we ask is that everyone uphold the values by which Boston Pride for the People operates. (Please see below.)

We strongly believe in the fundamental right to free speech. However, please be mindful of language (spoken or written) and actions that have the potential to  cause others to feel unsafe. There is no space for hate speech directed at any community. We condemn anti-LGBTQ+ language, signs, or actions. We do not condone language that expresses racist, transphobic, anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim, or any other sentiment that disparages a community. We embrace and treasure the diversity of queer people.

Boston Pride For The People has been working closely with safety professionals and we have a safety plan in place for responding to various potential situations. We established a relationship with the LGBTQ+ liaisons at the Boston Police Department (BPD) last year, which continues and allows communication and sharing of information about potential safety challenges. Organizing committee members have been attending LGBTQ-related security briefings on the city, state, and federal level.  Boston Police Department, Emergency Medical Services, and other safety staff, will be providing security and any necessary assistance throughout the event. 

BP4TP also has integrated security controls during the planning process, some of which include: 

• sustaining ongoing conversation with local, state, and federal authorities

• implementing mandatory Contingent Leader Trainings for all groups marching in the parade (over 400 people trained this year)

• conducting orientation for hundreds of volunteers who act as eyes and ears during the festivities

• contracting with paid security for the 21+ Block Festival

As with any public event, be aware of your surroundings at all times.  The safety of all is our top priority. 

Boston Pride for the People Mission

BP4TP’s mission is to amplify the beauty, rich diversity, unique culture, and intersectionality of the LGBTQ+ community through empowerment, education, commemoration and celebration.

Empower through creating LGBTQ+ community, and a culture of respectfully reaching across differences to support and love one another.

Celebrate and honor the rich, diverse, creative, and fabulous culture of LGBTQ+ communities, and impart knowledge of LGBTQ+ history and a sense of pride among LGBTQ+ youth.

Commemorate the Stonewall riots and memorialize the queer, trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of color (QTBIPOC) activists at the forefront of the 20th century lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, plus (LGBTQ+) movement.

Educate around the forms of oppression that LGBTQ people still experience and commit to disrupting and dismantling systems that cause harm to LGBTQ+ people, especially LGBTQ+ people who face multiple forms of marginalization.