I remember when I first started seeing major beverage conglomerates marketing vodka and other liquor at Pride fests. This is back in the early 1990s.

I thought we had it made. We’d arrived! Big corporations were marketing to us.

I didn’t see the double edged sword then. I didn’t foresee that Pride in many cities would turn into corporate extravaganzas that pushed activism and issues to the side while increasingly marginalizing members of our communities by charging admittance to main events.

Time to remember our roots, indeed!