A group run by LGBTQ+ Floridians has marched the last two years in the St. Pete Pride Parade to protest how corporate the event's become.
The “People’s Pride Coalition” formed in 2024 to protest against corporate sponsorships and the use of police for security at pride events. Members held their own march for the first time on Saturday, March 14.
About 50 members marched through Ybor City chanting with protest signs and pride flags. They also protested against the wars in Gaza and Iran, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
ALSO READ: These queer folks say St. Pete Pride has become too corporate
V Garcia, with the Tampa Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and a member of the coalition, said they planned the event, in part, to make up for the shortfall caused by Tampa Pride canceling its parade and festival originally planned for this month.
Tampa Pride’s board said the decision was made due to the "current political and economic climate” and “challenges with corporate sponsorships, reductions in county, state and federal grant funding, and the discontinuation of DEI programs under Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, has made it increasingly difficult for our organization to sustain ongoing operations for 2026.”
Garcia and the coalition took that as a challenge.
“We wanted to show that we could have a pride without corporate sponsorships, that we do not need corporations in order to celebrate our queerness and to be out and proud,” Garcia said.
“It's a bit disappointing to see these leaders in our community kind of roll over honestly and say, ‘hey, yeah, because we don't have money, we're not going to do anything.’ You know, I feel like they could still do something, even without corporate sponsorships.”
Pride started as a riot
Garcia stressed the history of Pride Month, which started with the Stonewall Uprising, a series of riots by members of the LGBTQ+ community against police raids of a New York City gay bar in June 1969.
The uprising — which is often cited as the pivotal point for the queer rights movements in the United States and even globally — serves as the foundation for June pride events across the country.
“That is the origin of Pride. It is not a parade in the street where everybody is drunkenly cheering for weapons makers and for companies that profit off of slave labor prison labor,” Garcia said.
Ira Beeson, with the Party for Socialism and Liberation and a member of the coalition, agreed.
“Pride has always had radical roots, and we have to push back against the politicians and the corporations who try to take our flag, our pride, our history, and turn it into either selling us stuff that is not about us, selling U.S. war, selling us on the same tepid responses and not actually standing up and protecting queer people,” Beeson said.
An anti-DEI bill passed by lawmakers
A few days before the march on Saturday, the Florida Legislature passed a bill prohibiting Florida cities and counties from funding, carrying out or even promoting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
Local officials who violate SB 1134 could be removed from office, and local governments could face litigation.
Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to sign it into law.
ALSO READ: Florida Legislature passes bill banning local government DEI initiatives
Beeson acknowledged the chilling effect it could have on larger-scale Pride events that partner with city and county officials to plan, promote, host, and secure the festivities.
“They're trying to make us feel alone and disempowered, even from the people who are trying to support us," said Beeson. "But the thing is that we couldn't rely on these politicians in the first place, because we know that real queer liberation cannot come from the status quo. It's always been radical. It has to come from the ground up, from organizing on the ground.”
Moving forward without corporate sponsorships
The People’s Pride Coalition is also organizing a community-funded event June 26 at Allendale Church in St. Petersburg for the second year to continue protesting what they call “rainbow washing.”
That's when companies and corporations put up rainbow logos for Pride Month and only support the queer and trans community when it’s convenient for them. It also extends to these groups selling Pride merchandise in their stores, and participating in Pride parades and festivals, while scaling back diversity, equity and inclusion programs, making it difficult for trans employees to get gender-affirming health care, and donating money to groups that support anti-LBTQ legislation and overturning marriage equality.
“So Target’s getting affected by this legislature, and then all of a sudden, they're rolling back health care that they provide for their trans employees, right? Is that really being an ally? Is that really supporting the queer community, or is that contingent on the powers that be? So just because you slap a rainbow logo on something doesn't mean that you're an actual ally to the queer community,” said V Garcia.
It will include music, a drag show, poetry, food and more. The event will also use private security personnel instead of law enforcement officers.
Pride of Tampa, a group that formed in late 2024 in response to Tampa Pride going on hiatus, will also hold their Pride of Tampa Official Opening Party at Bradley's on 7th on Thursday, March 26.
