Thousands visit uptown for Charlotte Pride parade

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Thousands of people packed uptown Charlotte on Sunday to celebrate the Charlotte Pride parade, the headliner of this weekend’s Pride festival.

Marchers moved down Tryon Street to Independence Square to celebrate their pride.

Some participants said it is a chance for all people to come together.

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“The unity, not just with the LGBT community, but everybody comes out to show love and we have fun and we party,” said Smiles Brown, who attended the parade.

Organizers said they want to shine a light on the experiences that make them different but also celebrate what makes them the same.

Left out of the parade were groups Deplorable Pride and Carolinas for Trump, who marched nearby.

There was a noticeable police presence around their groups.

They said LGBT conservatives are being discriminated against by Charlotte Pride.

“They are denying their own people and they need to be called out, that in 48 short years, the LGBT community went from being oppressed to becoming the oppressors,” said Brian Talbert, founder of Deplorable Pride.

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