“So Pride has its roots in violence,” White, 47, said.
In the years to come, similar marches would pop up in other cities. The next year, the first Gay Pride March was held in New York City. The raid became violent, as patrons of the bar fought back, sparking a multiple day scuffle marked by violence on both sides, arrests, protests and property damage. On June 28, 1969, New York City police conducted a raid at a gay bar, the Stonewall Inn. Motor City Pride is the local version of a national movement that started in New York City, which was the byproduct of violence, said White. On Sunday, Detroit police Officer Dani Woods, the department’s LGBT liaison officer, walked in the Motor City Pride parade in uniform. Mateen’s father, Mir Seddique, told NBC News about his son getting angry after seeing two men kissing a couple of months ago in Miami. The shooter in Orlando has been identified as Omar Mateen, 29. Motor City Pride, in its 44 year in Metro Detroit, is a project of Equality Michigan, said executive director Stephanie White. “There are no active threats to Detroit or to the region,” said Craig, who was in Hart Plaza.Ĭraig said he had conferred with the Detroit FBI Office and also talked with Mayor Mike Duggan on Sunday morning and advised him on the department’s efforts to keep the festival safe after the deadliest mass shooting in the United States, which also left at least 53 injured. “Some of it can’t be seen,” Craig told The Detroit News. Thousands of people attended the weekend-long celebration of the LGBT community, checked with security wands before entry.įestival goers approaching Hart Plaza from the north would see what police Chief James Craig called a “heightened state of readiness” among police officers securing the festival.
Detroit - Hours after a mass shooting at an Orlando gay nightclub left 50 people dead, festivities went on at Motor City Pride in downtown Detroit.