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Houston Matters

Houston LGBTQ+ Activists Discuss Their Experiences As Different Generations Of The Same Community

The Houston Pride Festival and Parade takes place this Saturday. Houston Matters hears from three LGBTQ+ activists about their different experiences through the years.

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The Houston Pride Festival and Parade takes place this Saturday, June 23, celebrating our LGBTQ+ community.

Houston Pride celebrations began 40 years ago in 1978, and since that time some major societal changes have taken place that have been both more inclusive and more challenging for members of the community.

Ahead of the festival, we talk with three LGBTQ+ activists about their experiences as part of different generations of the same community:

  • Jenifer Rene Pool, the first transgender woman to be named Grand Marshal of the Pride Parade in 2012
  • Ray Hill, a veteran LGBT activist and Grand Marshal in 1981
  • Debora Moncrief Bell, a national organizer for the 1993 March on Washington for LGBT equality