GLAAD marches with Express & local organizers during Columbus Pride

Last weekend, GLAAD joined hundreds of thousands of people in Columbus, Ohio for the city’s weekend-long Pride festivities. The Grand Marshal of the 2019 Stonewall Columbus Pride Parade was the city’s very own Nina West, who appeared on season 11 of RuPaul’s Drag Race.

On Friday, June 14, the Pride festivities kicked off with the city’s inaugural Trans March. More than 1,000 individuals gathered outside of Ohio Statehouse to showcase their support for the trans community, with several speakers addressing the crowd with messages regarding the importance of visibility, unity, acceptance. Based on the march’s incredible success, plans are already under way for the second annual Trans March in 2020. Check out some photos from the march (photo credit to Staley Jophiel Munroe): 

On Saturday, June 15, GLAAD and board member and former grand marshall of Columbus Pride, Lana Moore joined our official pride & apparel sponsor Express in the 38th annual Columbus Pride Parade. Influencers Raymond Braun and Aaron Rhodes also joined to ride with Lana on the #ExpressPride float, alongside more than 150 local supporters, each sporting looks from the Express LOVE UNITES collection that benefits GLAAD. Raymond also took over GLAAD’s Instagram story during the parade to capture many of the magical moments throughout the day.

Check out some of the highlights from the parade below (photo credit to Staley Jophiel Munroe): 

A special thank you to the Express team, as well as to Raymond Braun for highlighting his experience of the event on GLAAD’s Instagram story. Check out the “Columbus Pride” story highlight on our Instagram page to see Raymond’s coverage of the many celebratory and inspiring experiences that took place during Columbus Pride weekend.