The League started Pride Month by participating in the West Hollywood Pride, WEHO, with the icon Cyndi Lauper. League members encouraged parade attendees to plan to vote using VOTE411.org. 

Before the parade kicked off, we posed for a picture with Cyndi and her sister, Ellen Lauper. 

We also participated in a photo shoot with League volunteers, a parade attendee, and members of the nonprofits True Colors United (which Cyndi co-founded) and Planned Parenthood Los Angeles, who were also walking with Cyndi.

I also got a quick selfie with LWVUS board member and LWVEF Trustee Alexis Juday-Marshall, who walked with us. Alexis has been a League member since 2018 and previously served as a member of the LWV Observer Corps and a delegate to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26).

As we marched down the parade route, we handed out LWV and VOTE411 branded pride buttons and palm cards describing how to create a voting plan.

Cyndi stopped along the route to discuss the importance of each group walking with her. After shouting out VOTE411, she talked about the importance of voting and being an informed voter. 

“And if you want to be represented, you have to represent yourself and use your voice. You have to come out and support and read everything. That's why we have VOTE411 here today, so that you can look up information and vote for people who really represent you,” she told KTLA reporters. 

At the end of the parade, League participants posed for one last photo before heading off to other pride festivities. 

Walking in the parade, I couldn’t help but think about the movement and people who fought for LGBTQIA+ rights 55 years ago. The Stonewall riots led to what we now celebrate as Pride. While there has been progress since then, as a nation we must do more to expand and protect LGBTQIA+ rights. 

As a cis women who mostly identify as heterosexual, participating in the Pride parade felt like a way to honor my relative whose sexuality was a “secret," my best friend who creates community for queer women in Houston, my dear friends who have passed away but would have lost their minds when I told them about Cyndi Lauper, and my cousin who inspires me to keep pushing forward. 

As an ally of the queer community, I celebrate with my queer loved ones, and I advocate for their protection from harm and progressive legislation to ensure that queer people are treated like people. In the words of the Quinta Brunson meme, "people be gay," and we must continue to strive for a world where queer people are protected, seen, included, and accepted for who they are.