While early LGBTQ+ Pride celebrations, protests, and marches were held in Milwaukee, WI as early as 1971, Milwaukee’s first Pride parade happened on June 17th, 1989. This article comes from a 1989 issue of The Advocate, a prominent LGBTQ magazine that began in Los Angeles, CA in 1967 and continues to represent an important public voice for the LGBTQ+ community today. The excerpt and photographs shown above highlight the preparation that went into Milwaukee’s first Pride parade and the importance it held for members of Milwaukee’s LGBTQ+ community.
The full copy of “After the Parade Passed By” featured here can be found in the Miriam Ben-Shalom Papers, call number UWM Mss 237, here at the UWM Archives.