Equality March, pride festival to be held downtown

Wichita is one of more than 90 cities participating in an Equality March to promote discussion and address concerns of the LGBT community.

The march, from 1 to 2 p.m. Sunday, is in solidarity with the first National Equality March for Unity and Pride held in Washington D.C. on the same day.

The idea for the national march started with a Facebook post and quickly grew into a global movement, said Equality March national co-chair Ashley Smith.

To date, there will be 107 sister marches held across the United States, Australia, Switzerland, Canada and Spain.

Wichita is the only city in Kansas participating.

Wichita Pride Inc. coordinated the local march, which will begin and end near Naftzger Memorial Park in the 600 block of East Douglas Avenue.

The march will head west on Douglas, cross the street at the intersection of Douglas and North Water Street and head back to the park.

Wichita Pride Inc. President Travis Hooper said they’re expecting more than 250 individuals to show up for the 11-block march.

Jackie Carter, senior pastor at Table of Hope Metropolitan Community Church, said she will be in attendance. Carter has been a pastor for nine years at Table of Hope, a Christian social justice church that started with LGBT roots.

“The Women’s March was our first indicator that people are ready to do something different,” she said.

Carter said she’s eager to participate in the march, which she hopes will draw attention to problems with equality and inclusivity.

“Hatred has just overtaken,” she said. “And the people that can have to be willing to stand up and say, ‘This is no longer okay.’”

Hooper said he encourages participants to bring banners and signs supporting the cause, but requests they be family-friendly as the march is open to all ages and the organizers are expecting media coverage.

“If the signs and things can’t be shown on local TV, then you don’t get shown on TV. And the point of this is raising awareness, so we want to make sure that everything can be shown to the community,” Hooper said.

The march will stay on sidewalks and abide by traffic laws, he said, as no parade permit was obtained for the event.

At the halfway point, Wichita Pride Inc. members will have tables set up with free water for the marchers.

Hooper said they have contacted the Wichita Police Department’s LGBT liaisons and notified them of the march.

“Safety is always our first priority,” he said.

The march takes place a week before the start of Wichita Pride, an annual event the organization holds each June to celebrate LGBT pride month. The celebration runs from Friday, June 16 to Sunday, June 18.

T-shirts and tank-tops for the national march are available for $25 on the organization’s website, www.equalitymarch2017.org.

This story was originally published June 9, 2017 at 4:33 PM with the headline "Equality March, pride festival to be held downtown."