St. Louis Pride Parade 2019: Photos

ST. LOUIS, MO — A sweltering, 90-degree afternoon didn't keep the crowds away from Market Street Sunday for the 40th annual St. Louis Pride Parade. This year marked not only the parade's 40th year but also the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, the 1969 LGBT uprising against police that marked the beginning of the gay rights movement in the United States.

Thousands attended the parade and corresponding festival, despite the loss of the Metro Trans Umbrella Group, the St. Louis Ethical Society and others over Pride STL's decision to allow police officers to march in uniform.

Parade organizers had initially asked uniformed officers not to march in the parade, but later backed down under pressure from the city, holding a joint press conference with Mayor Lyda Krewson and public safety director Jimmie Edwards to announce the reversal.

"We are disappointed in the decision to have uniformed law enforcement officers march in the Pride parade," MTUG told the Riverfront Times. "Our struggles against police brutality have not ended in the 50 years since Stonewall. Transgender people in our community and throughout the country continue to experience trauma and harassment from police."

The Ethical Society's James Croft cited the killing of Kiwi Herring, a black transgender woman, by St. Louis police in 2017, as well as racist social media posts by St. Louis officers and other actions by police as among his group's reasons for not participating.

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