Palm Beach Pride: LGBTQ+ parade draws diverse support, families, ‘mom hugs’

LAKE WORTH BEACH — The avenues of downtown Lake Worth Beach beamed a mighty message to the world Sunday as a spirited Palm Beach Pride parade rallied a crowd that included young and old, LGBTQ+ and straight, USA-born and immigrant families and individuals:

“Wokeness” is not only very much alive in Florida, it has deep roots and widespread civic and corporate support.

The event brought sponsors, floats and signs bearing familiar brands and institutions such as Carrier, Florida Blue, Johnson & Johnson, Bank of America, Baptist Health, Florida Panthers, Texas Roadhouse, Comcast, Discover The Palm Beaches and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.

It also brought “Free Mom Hugs." Those came courtesy of Natalie Mroz and Tracey Raymond, who distributed multicolored beaded necklaces and motherly embraces.

“We want to hug people who need a hug. Maybe their moms aren’t here. Maybe their moms didn’t accept them. Maybe they just need a mom hug,” said Mroz, who was representing Free Mom Hugs, an Oklahoma-based nonprofit that supports the nation’s LGBTQ+ community.

Florida’s present political climate, with its increased right-wing hostility toward the LGBTQ+, Black and immigrant communities, makes Mroz and Raymond’s mission about more than a simple friendly gesture.

“It feels vital right now. It feels vital to let people know we love them, we see them, we support them, no matter what’s going on. We’re in their corner. That’s really important to me,” said Raymond, a supermarket cashier who is the nonprofit’s Southeast Florida area event coordinator.

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All this at a time when some political and ideological forces push a “don’t say gay” agenda and root for the demise of diversity, inclusion and social justice measures and the elimination of African-American studies.

“It all keeps going in a pretty awful direction. It seems to be getting worse and worse,” said Ronnie Houck, who watched the parade with his husband and their cocker spaniel Sofia (“like the queen of Spain”). “We just want them to know we’re still here and we’re part of the community.”

His husband of 10 years, Tito Sempertegui, agreed: “We have to make sure to show up so they know we are citizens, too. And we have to show our support for our community.”

Showing support is important for local mom and event planner Meredith Falk, who went to the parade with her husband Alex and their sons Jackson, 4, and Riley, 2.

“I’m very proud to be here, especially with my children, to teach them, the next generation, about how important it is to represent every single population and that everybody should be treated equally and fairly,” she said. She feels especially close to the LGBTQ+ community because her husband was raised by two gay fathers.

During the parade, Falk found an ideal front-row viewing spot with her son Jackson. But their vantage point sparked an interesting exchange with another parade-goer, she said.

“There was an older woman behind us and she asked, ‘Could you move out of the way so I could see?’ We looked at each other and kind of smiled. I said, ‘But he’s so tiny. He won’t be able to see if he stands in the back, and the next generation really needs to see this parade.’ And she looked at me and said, ‘Fair,'” Falk said. “I think that sums it up.”

The increasingly hostile political climate in Florida kept some parade-goers away and nearly drove off others, said former Lake Worth Beach Commissioner and Vice Mayor Andy Amoroso, who plans to run for city mayor in 2024.

“So many people called and said, ‘I don’t feel comfortable coming down,’ and then other people said, ‘I’m going to come down there because it may be our last one,’” Amoroso said.

After the final floats and fire trucks had passed along Lake Avenue, right outside his gift shop, The Tacky Tourist, Amoroso said he was heartened by the large and quite diverse turnout at this year’s parade. It appeared that thousands of people were on hand Sunday for the parade.

In the small shop, overstocked with bric-a-brac, he keeps a photo of 1970s singer and anti-gay crusader Anita Bryant.

“I keep it there to remind us where we came from. Unfortunately some of that same crap is going on now. The haters are there. You don't see them, but they see us,” said Amoroso, who was Lake Worth’s first openly gay commissioner. “I mean, love is love. Let people live.”

He says it’s important for the LGBTQ+ community to build and keep a representative presence in the state’s capital as well as in the nation’s capital, especially now.

“We have to keep fighting, keep our presence in Tallahassee and Washington,” he said. “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.”

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach Pride: LGBTQ+ parade draws diversity, families, ‘mom hugs’