Tens of thousands of people are expected to fill the streets on Saturday for Boston’s 2025 Pride Parade. This is the annual celebration that organizers say this year is a celebration of LGBTQ+ identity and a protest against an increase in political attacks by the Trump administration.
“There are people who want us to disappear. We’re going back to our closet, quiet our voices and waive the rights that we’ve fought so hard as to claim,” Adriana Boleyn of Boston Pride for the People said in a press release. “But we will not be bullied, returned to silence or erased.”
This year’s Pride arrives at a time of conservative backlash against LGBTQ+ Americans, especially transgender people. Just a week after his inauguration, President Trump signed an executive order banning transgender forces from serving the military. Trump also banned transgender women from competing in women’s sports and banned target organizations that serve transgender people to cut federal funding.
Boston Pride Organizer Gary Duffin said the parade theme “Stay Here” is a direct response to the government’s attempts “to erase trans people from the country.”
“We fought and fought to gain the rights and responsibilities we deserve as Americans,” Duffin said. “We’re not going anywhere. We’re not going to lose this fight at all.”
He added that the government is trying to erase queer people from history, and that it points to a recent order from Defense Secretary Pete Hegses to remove the name of Harvey Milk, California’s first openly gay elected official from a US naval vessel.
In April, the National Park Service scrubbed information related to Boston’s LGBTQ+ history from its website, including articles about LGBTQ+ Activism at Faneuil Hall and a self-directed history tour of the city.
The inseparable mass coalition from the democratic activist group Massachusetts 50501 is one of the sponsors of Boston Pride this year. As part of a national day of action to protest Trump’s policies, as many as 75 members of the organization will march in the parade, according to a spokesman for 50501.
Despite political pressure from Washington, Saturday’s Pride festival will celebrate LGBTQ+ resilience as much as protests, Duffin said.
“A fun protest is the most powerful protest. Part of what we do is give people a space to experience joy in their community,” he said.
The parade kicks off from Copley Square at 11am and processes it down Clarendon Street into Tremont Street in the South End. The route continues to Berkle Race Street and return to Boyleston Street, ending at Boston Common. The Pride Festival features DJs and drug performers for parad attendees of all ages.
Organizers trained more than 400 volunteers to help manage the event. These are posted along the parade route to notify organizers of unusual or destructive activities.
The safety measures follow on Wednesday’s fifth day as Los Angeles protests over Trump’s immigration attack. One day after federal immigration authorities arrested 44 migrants on Friday, protesters gathered outside federal jails to demand release. The protest escalated when police on the riot device tried to use tear gas cans to disperse the crowd.
Trump later deployed around 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines in Los Angeles, but California Gov. Gavin Newsom filed an emergency motion in federal courts attempting to stop them from being used to support migrant raids.
More peaceful protests against immigrant raids have been staged recently in cities from Boston to Seattle. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the National Guard would be deploying Wednesday evening ahead of the immigrant protests.
Boston police officers will be stationed at the Pride Festival on Saturday, but a department spokesman declined to comment on whether there is a larger police presence than in the past.
The offices of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healy did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday in relation to the Pride Public Safety Plan.
Massachusetts State Police provide additional support to local police when necessary, department officials said.
“We are ready to support our law enforcement partners to ensure a safe, inclusive and respectful celebration for everyone,” state police spokesman Tim McGilk said in an email to Globe on Wednesday.
Duffin emphasized that organizers did not anticipate the violence seen in Los Angeles.
“We expect everything to be completely peaceful, and there’s no reason to expect that otherwise,” Duffin said.
In addition to the festival at Boston Common, Boston Pride for the People will host a block party at City Hall Plaza for people over 21 from 2pm to 8pm
Jade Lozada can be accessed at jade.lozada@globe.com.
