Pride is Power, Living Out Loud

What Pride Means:
Mark R. of Flagstaff, Arizona

For Mark, Pride is not just a celebration. It is a lifetime of witnessing change, surviving it, shaping it, and refusing to let the fight fade. As an older gay man, he has seen Pride evolve from protest to parade to powerful cultural force. He has watched the world shift in ways he once could not imagine, and he carries the memory of every step it took to get here.

“I have seen a lot of change in Prides throughout my years,” he shares. “I am glad the younger generation can be who they want to be.” There is pride in his voice, but also a quiet understanding of the cost. The battles fought. The rights earned. The lives lost along the way.

Mark remembers a time when being out was dangerous, when Pride was an act of defiance, when visibility came with risk. He remembers marching not for celebration but for survival. And he remembers the moment the world began to open, slowly, unevenly, but undeniably.

Today, he looks at younger queer people with joy. They dance freely. They love openly. They take up space he once had to fight for. But he also knows the work is not finished.

“With the new leadership we cannot stop fighting for our rights and the human rights to exist,” he says. It is not fear speaking. It is wisdom. It is the voice of someone who has lived through the cycles of progress and pushback and understands that Pride is not guaranteed. It is protected.

For Mark, Pride means honoring the past, celebrating the present, and defending the future. It means community, resilience, and the courage to keep showing up even when the world feels uncertain. It means standing beside the next generation and reminding them that joy is a right worth fighting for.

And for #Passporters everywhere, his message is a call to action “Pride is not only who we are. It is what we must continue to protect.”