Accusations that they had excluded the very people they were supposed to represent.ĪBDUL-ALIY MUHAMMAD: It was bad, categorically.ĮG: There was just this, like, power hoarding that she did. They disbanded after being accused of racism and transphobia. The organization that ran Philly Pride collapsed last summer. NEWS CLIP: Following a controversial social media post, the organization behind Philadelphia’s Pride festival has shut down. MW: These public, queer events - and all the moments of connection they hold - are what made Elicia feel at home for the first time.īut just a few years later, in the summer of 20-21, that dream came crashing down… seemingly overnight. It’s a lot.īut moments like these show what Pride is all about.ĮG: This is an event where I know I, myself, have felt very seen, where I’ve connected with other people who looked like me, you know, who sometimes, you know, think and act like me, sometimes are very different from me, but it’s a space to call our own. A sea of rainbow flags, gigantic corporate floats, loud megaphones, bare chests and booty shorts, that floods most major cities every June. And it was like our biggest Pride ever, like, when I look back over the video and things like that, it’s just filled with like, queerness, like Latinidad, you know.
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She orchestrated the proposal.ĮG: I wanted it to be really over the top. Megan takes Elicia in her arms and lifts her new fiancé into the air, both laughing as they’re engulfed in the crowd.ĮLICIA GONZALES: I proposed to my wife in front of, like, everybody, including my ex’s girlfriend, which was amazing. They kiss, and all of a sudden, Elicia takes off her purple t-shirt to reveal a tank top underneath.
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The other woman, Megan Hannah, has short hair, a bow tie around her neck, and this look on her face that’s like… What has this woman gotten me into? With a smile, she opens the box. She pulls out this small black box with a white ribbon around it. She’s spilling over with nervous, excited energy. One of the women, Elicia Gonzales, has her hair in pigtails - and her stomach in knots.
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MW: They’re both wearing these matching purple t-shirts that say, “Soy queer Latina.” The women are surrounded by a crowd of people - jumping up and down and cheering. Let’s all watch to see what happens next for these two. Last year at Pride, they became more than friends. And their lives are about to change.ĪNNOUNCER OVER MEGAPHONE: These two have been best friends for more than eight years. MICHAELA WINBERG, HOST: Two women are standing right in the middle of a huge Pride parade in Philadelphia.