OLYMPIA, Wash. – Mustafa Fowler carried the left side of the banner as he wore his heart on his sleeve. He turned the corner onto Olympia’s Capitol Way and saw the crowds lining the street. It was an emotional moment.
“I have a friend. He’s Muslim and he’s gay and they’ve lost 10 people,” Fowler said. “I’m from Orlando. This is my hometown. I’m very emotional right now. This is real. Giving up is not an option.”
Fowler is straight, but he’s been to the LGBT-friendly Pulse Nightclub in Orlando many times. His friend, as he said, knew people who died this month in the country’s worse mass shooting.
Fowler carried a rainbow-colored banner that had the word “ORLANDO” written across it.
That was the image that started the capital city’s pride parade. People stood up and cheered as Fowler and the canvas he was holding passed in front of them.
“It doesn’t matter if a person is trans, gay or queer,” he said. “We’re all humans first.”
Capital City Pride parade organizers said more people lined the streets than ever before. They estimate the attendance for the parade to be around 20,000.
“I think today for me, I’m remembering,” said Emily Piep, who works in the student activities office of Evergreen State College. “I feel like it’s important to just show up and be here. Some of the first pride celebrations were people just being so brave and coming out of their houses and saying – we get to live our full lives in front of everyone.”
In the wake of the Orlando shootings, KING 5 will hold a special community forum on Monday with local leaders and law enforcement. Watch "Pride and Peace" Monday at 7 p.m. on air, online and on the KING 5 app. Join the conversation during the forum on the KING 5 Facebook page and on twitter using #KING5.
