People in Winnipeg donned every colour of the rainbow in front of the Manitoba legislative building on Sunday morning in celebration of love and pursuit of equal rights during a Pride rally ahead of the parade.
The rally kicked off at 10 a.m., an hour ahead of the parade, which will travel down Portage Avenue and end near The Forks around noon.
Hudu Abdl Hamid, who goes by they/them pronouns, says he fled his home country of Ghana in West Africa out of fear of persecution and arrived in Winnipeg last fall.
Hamid said coming to Winnipeg felt like coming home because he is protected by the Canadian government.
“Being LGBTQ+ in Ghana is hell. You’ll either be lynched or killed,” they said.
“Being an LGBTQ+ person is a privilege. Look at how lovely it is here.”
Dieth Aquino Ed Noel, who came to Winnipeg in 2015, is a part of Bahaghari Pride Manitoba — a community group that aims to help 2SLGBTQ Filipinos in Manitoba feel celebrated.
“It’s very important to have representation, because a lot of people in our community don’t believe that we should exist,” he said.
Celebrating Pride feels great, “because we know who we are,” Noel said.
“Wherever you go, we are everywhere and we’re not going anywhere.”