The weather was dreary but the mood was high during the weekend’s three-day Pride festivities.
Hundreds gathered to celebrate, sing and cheer on the parade that began on Duke’s East Campus Saturday afternoon. The march featured drag performers, the Durham Ceasefire Chorus, a handful of churches, and sponsors like Lenovo, the City of Durham and Alliance Health.
Missing from that list: Durham County, which shied away from sponsoring the events this year for fear of retaliation from the Trump administration. The county said its support of Pride could endanger the nearly $100 million the county receives from the federal government to support public schools and other services. Still, the county’s official absence reflected what many attendees already felt — that this year’s Pride is not just about celebration but about standing firm in the face of political pressure…