About Pride

For more than 40 years, Pride Houston has been a central part of the local LGBT community in Houston.

Our core mission is to strengthen equality and increase awareness around issues important to our community such as health, safety and marriage equality. Pride Houston celebrates the individuality and diversity of every person as we all strive for acceptance from parents, friends and society-at-large.

 

From annual charity events to aiding LGBTQIA support and counseling networks, its activities continue to promote social awareness and enrich the diversity that helps the Houston community thrive.

Nearly a decade after the Stonewall Riots in New York, the Gay Rights Movement for equality made its way to Houston. Houston’s own “Stonewall Movement” occurred in June of 1977 when thousands gathered around City Hall in downtown Houston to protest against Anita Bryant. The first Pride Parade took place in June of 1978 along Westheimer Road. The current Pride Celebration is typically held the last Saturday in June to commemorate Stonewall, and the parade, which is held in the evening after sunset. This tradition began in 1997, arranged by then-Houston City Councilmember Annise Parker, where a parade ordinance was revised to allow for the nation’s only nighttime Pride Parade. In 2015, the Pride Celebration moved to its new home in Downtown Houston continuing the tradition that began on the steps of City Hall in 1977.

Pride Houston is a registered 501(c)3 organization incorporated in the state of Texas, and is 100 percent volunteer-run. Its annual June Celebration takes more than 800 volunteers a year to produce..