One borough, one parade.
After 60 years, certainly one of Staten Island’s largest and most influential civic organizations is permitting homosexual and lesbian teams to march within the borough’s official St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
“The Richmond County St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee wishes to announce that the Staten Island Pride Center has been invited to march, under their own banner, in the 2025 Saint Patrick’s Day Parade,” the committee in a written assertion..
“This invitation has been extended by new leadership of the parade committee, installed on Oct. 30, 2024,”
The breakthrough was first reported by the Staten Island Advance.
Marchers collect earlier than the beginning of the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 6, 2022, on Staten Island, New York. (Picture by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis by way of Getty Photos)
“The parade committee is entrusted with ensuring the focus of the parade remains upon Saint Patrick, the history, traditions, culture and faith of the Irish people,” the assertion mentioned. “In this endeavor, the leadership of The Pride Center has assured the parade committee that they are ready to provide support to the parade in fulfilling this obligation.”
The LGBTQ+ Delight Middle instantly accepted the invitation.
“We are truly honored to be invited to march in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade,” mentioned Carol Bullock, the Delight Middle’s government director. “This event is a time-honored tradition that brings people together from all walks of life to celebrate Irish culture, and we are excited to be part of this vibrant community celebration.”
The parade shall be held on Sunday, March 2.
Over the past a number of years, participation within the fashionable procession has dwindled as many teams and people boycotted the annual occasion over the controversial LGBTQ ban.
The decades-long exclusion of LGBTQ teams led to the formation earlier this yr of a second and extra inclusive island parade, which rapidly gained the help of native retailers and politicians, together with Mayor Adams, who marched with the LGBTQ teams.
In 2014, Manhattan’s New York Metropolis St. Patrick’s Day Parade ended its two-decade ban. Parades in Boston and Dublin, Eire, have since finished the identical.
The Staten Island occasion was one of many final holdouts to exclude LGBTQ teams from marching underneath their very own banners.
Initially Printed: November 12, 2024 at 1:48 PM EST
