More than 80,000 attend Pittsburgh Pride festivities
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — It's officially Pride Month, and Pittsburgh kicked it off with the 51st annual parade on Saturday afternoon.
More than 80,000 people painted the streets of Pittsburgh with the colors of the rainbow, coming together to celebrate love and unity with the LGBTQ+ community.
It was a special moment for 15-year-old Milez Nesbit.
"It feels like freedom," Milez said.
The transgender teen from Oakdale took part in the parade for the first time on Saturday, joined by his mom, Jennifer.
"It's all about the love. It's all about loving each other and supporting each other no matter what," Jennifer said.
"This is the place where I belong, where I can finally just be myself and be my Pride in myself," Milez said.
For more than one mile, the crowd waved their Pride flags and walked from 11th Street and Liberty Avenue in Downtown Pittsburgh to Allegheny Commons Park West, expressing themselves along the way.
Dena Stanley is co-founder of Pittsburgh Pride Group.
"We are human just like everyone else, and we deserve the same dignity and respect," Stanley said.
She said the fight is not over, and their rights remain at stake.
"This is our protest. This is us coming out and standing and saying that we're not going to allow you at all whatsoever to take away our power," Stanley said.
"There's still a lot more work that needs to be done, and there's still more awareness that needs to be made to show that everybody here is just a person and everybody just wants their support and equality," Jennifer said.
For Milez, that's what it's all about.
"I hope to show that everybody is being themselves and making sure that everybody supports other people around them," Milez said.
