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From June 23 to 25, the city of Minneapolis will host the 51st Twin Cities Pride Festival in Loring Park and Parade Park. Gathering thousands of members and supporters of the LGBTQ+ community every year, the event celebrates diversity, hard-won legal rights, and the continuing journey toward social justice and equality. Minnesota Realtors® (MNR) has been a partner and ally of the LGBTQ+ for many years. 

“When sexual orientation was added as a protected class in Minnesota in 1993, MNR was the prime lobbying group,” said Pat Paulson, MNR treasurer and member of the Minneapolis Area of Realtors® (MAR). “It shows our long-standing commitment to the LGBTQ+ community, and other affinity groups. By participating in Pride, Realtors® have an opportunity to demonstrate their own commitment to make Minnesota a more just, equitable, and welcoming place to live.”

Pride events in the Twin Cities and around the world commemorate the birth of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, which began in New York in 1969. In the early morning hours of a sweltering June night, a unit of the New York City Police Department’s Vice Squad raided the Stonewall Inn, a bar on Christopher Street frequented by members of the gay community. The patrons, who had endured many such raids, fought back.* A scuffle spilled onto the streets, arrests were made, and a revolution ignited. A year later, in commemoration of the uprising, the Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee organized the first Pride march. 

“As an openly gay leader, one of the things I’ve learned is that representation matters. And so, whether it’s Pride Month or Women’s History Month or Black History Month or similar observances, it’s about celebrating diversity all the time because it makes us all better,” said Josh McFall, CEO of MNR. “It pushes us to think differently and have empathy for others and consider alternatives to our routine ways of perceiving and doing things. By showing visible support, organizations like ours can encourage and expand diversity on committees. That’s vital because we all bring a variety of life experiences to our chosen professions, and it makes a positive impact when you have different voices at the table.” 

This year’s Twin Cities Pride Festival will include music stages with live entertainment, food courts, a beer garden, and dozens of vendors. Related events during Pride Week include the Twin Cities LGBTQ+ Pride March, Pride Family Fun Day at Como Park, and the Pride Beer Dabbler in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Learn more by visiting Twin Cities Pride.