As Dallas celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Alan Ross Texas Freedom Parade, organizers and activists talk about its purpose and its impact — and its future

Dallas City Council members ride a float in the 2007 Alan Ross Texas Freedom Parade. Gay Pride parades started out as protests and have morphed into celebrations.

As Dallas’ Alan Ross Texas Freedom Parade celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, the event’s top organizer isn’t so sure the parade will still be around 25 years from now.

“I think we might have a celebration. But parades originally were pretty much a protest march, and we are approaching the point where, other than a few political issues, we really don’t have a lot to protest,” Dallas Tavern Guild President Michael Doughman said.

Doughman says many cities across the nation are already considering only having a Pride festival and dropping the parade, and Marianne DeLeon with Equality Texas says this fate is not limited to just Dallas. She’s already seeing the significance of parades changing.

“We try to go to all the parades in Texas, and there is a shift. They are more benign than what I think the intent of gay Pride ever was,” she said.
But local activists aren’t so sure.

“Until we all march down Cedar Springs and feel silly about having a parade because there is no need for them, I think they are still relevant,” said Patti Fink, president of Dallas Lesbian and Gay Alliance. “I hope that happens in my lifetime, but we’ve got a long way to go before experiencing discrimination-free lives.”
Others agree.

“Do we still need to protest? Yes. Because we still can be fired for being gay, we cannot legally marry, our gay children are openly bullied on school grounds, and sadly, hundreds of us across this nation are battered or killed for being who we are,” local activist Jesse Garcia said.

Women — and men — on motorcyles are an expected part oF the Alan Ross Texas Freedom Parade each year. Ross Crusemann with the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau said the parade provides a big boost to the Dallas economy.

Plus there’s an argument that Pride parades are and always have been about more than protesting. “It gives us a pivotal point for unity,” Fink said. “We don’t really get that elsewhere throughout the year.”

Fink also says that the Parade is a chance to celebrate how far we have come as a community.

And Garcia feels it has some very useful political purposes other than protesting.
“For Dallas, the Alan Ross Texas Freedom Parade helps keep our community in check. We see which elected officials and political candidates are proud to march alongside our community,” he said.

The parade has also become a major business driver for the area. If the parade were pulled, Dallas would also feel a significant economic impact.

“When you have 35,000 to 40,000 spectators at the parade and 7,000 to 8,000 attending the festival at Lee Park, it automatically boosts business for our area hotels, retail stores, restaurants, bars and entertainment venues,” said Ross Crusemann, senior vice president of marketing for the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau.

But with 2,200 people estimated to march this year, Doughman knows the parade has become a highlight for the community.

“I think 25 years of successful Pride events and pretty good relations with the city and in the community is something we should celebrate,” he said. “I hope we continue to grow and develop a little more each year.”

E-mail briscoe@dallasvoice.com

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition September 19, 2008.