A history of Pride in North Carolina — the murder — the vigil — the march — the parade!

On the sunny afternoon of April 12, 1981, a murder occurred at the Little River north of Durham. Two young men destroyed the idyllic and tranquil surroundings by attacking a group of people they thought were homosexual. While several in the group sustained injuries... the thugs proceeded down the creek and attacked another victim who happened to be handicapped without use of his legs. He was insulted, beaten and drowned. When the murderers were brought to trial, there was great fear that the court system would let them off or lightly punish due to the gay aspects of the case. A group of local gay men and lesbians banded together for the first public demonstration for gay civil rights in NC at the Durham Court House during the trial in 1982. Although several gay people who testified at the trial lost their jobs because of discrimination, the main perpetrator was found guilty of murder. In the years that followed, the activists were surprised at the number of people who stood up and were counted. They realized that our small closeted community had crossed over a threshold. In 1986, the second public demonstration for gay and lesbian rights was held on the campus of Duke University. The event that started as a gathering soon turned into a march and every year for the next 14 years, the NC Pride March would travel to a major city of our state to demonstrate and demand equal justice. Each year it got larger as more and more of our GLBT citizens gathered the courage to walk down unfriendly streets and each year those streets became less threatening. It must be said that in the heart of most North Carolinians is a deep and abiding sense of fair play and justice. As the march went forward, slowly the attitudes of the past began to change. In Durham where the first march had taken place, there were now many openly gay and gay friendly businesses. However in 2000, our Pride March faced a crisis when the organizers fell into chaos six weeks before the June march. After all the years of struggle and after all the marches in Asheville, Charlotte, Carrboro, Durham, Raleigh, Winston Salem and Greensboro, it looked as though in the very year of the millennium there would be no march in NC. As the disappointment traveled through the local Durham community, a small but dedicated band of 12 people united to save the march. It was held in 90 degree June weather and a faithful crowd of 2000 marched. In the aftermath, that committee reformed and began to revamp the concepts of our march to fit the new century. It was decided that it would be moved to the Fall to take advantage of the weather and it was also decided that the model of moving the parade had become too difficult to manage. The new model would be based on the idea of many county fairs and a single state fair. Our statewide NC Pride parade and festival would stay in the capital and support other smaller Pride events around the state. This plan was successful beyond our dreams, sprouting many Pride festivals in the cities of NC including Raleigh, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Salisbury, Charlotte, Asheville and the Outer Banks. In a way, it is interesting to note that after 34 years of marching, our march/parade has come to represent all of the legal achievements of the LGBTQ community from the ending of the Sodomy laws, inclusion in the military and gay marriage. In 2017, the decision was made among the original remaining members of the Pride Committee of NC to change our model again. The Pride Committee of NC dissolved and a group has formed to keep alive the NC Pride Guide as a statewide magazine. Other younger volunteers have formed a new group to continue our traditional pride parade and festival under the new and more appropriate name of the Triangle Pride Parade and Festival. In 2017, the decision was made among the few original remaining members of the Pride Committee of NC to change again. The Pride Committee of NC has dissolved and a team has formed to keep alive the NC Pride Guide as a statewide magazine to support the many Pride events in our state. The members of the NC Pride committee want to thank all of the individuals, groups, and advertisers for their years of support. This year's Interpride theme is: Remember the Past, Create the Future. As we pass into this new transition, we all have heartfelt memories of wonderful moments from the past and yet look forward to what the newest generations of our community will create in the future.

Pride Guide

The new NC Pride Guide will continue to be a state wide resource for the LGBTQ community and will be distributed across the state. It will maintain this website for historical purposes. The NCPridePages and NCGaytravel websites are under construction and are being updated. For Advertising Information contact: ncprideguide@gmail.com

2013 NC Pride Parade and Festival Sets Record Attendance

The largest LGBT event in NC and the adjoining states breaks all records, seeing its largest attendance, greatest number of festival vendors, and largest parade with over 60 vehicles, more than 15 large floats, 88 registered groups, and thousands marching.

Dignitaries included US Congressman Brad Miller, NC State Senator Elle Kinnaird, NC State Representative Marcus Brandon, Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt, Franklinton Mayor Elic Senter, and Durham City Councilmembers Mike Woodard and Diane Cattoti.

Keynote Speaker and International Music Celebrity Randy Jones, the original cowboy of the Village People, spoke about marriage equality and gave the crowds a treat with his performance of "YMCA."

Past Pride Festival

NC Pride 2009 Parade Video