Even though Chicago's Pride parade was cancelled this year due to the coronavirus crisis, thousands of LGBT activists gathered at an unsanctioned event on Sunday, the Washington Examiner reported.
Activists from Pride and the Black Lives Matter movement partnered together to hold what they called the "Reclaim Pride March" along a two-mile route from the North Side to Uptown.
Ashabi Owagboriaye, one of the participants in the event, told ABC7 Chicago that "The reason the march is so important is to highlight those lives that we lost and highlight the people whose lives may not have been lost, but have been wrecked just because they exist openly."
Aerial footage from the event showed thousands of attendees, with many on Twitter expressing concern about spreading the coronavirus due to such large crowds, according to the Examiner. Many of those taking part in the march, however, appeared to to be wearing face coverings.
But Illinois has not fully reopened yet, with Gov. J.B. Pritzker saying the state may not do so until a vaccine is available. Currently, there are only 50 people allowed to gather in places such as churches and theaters.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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