“She comes in colors everywhere. She combs her hair. She’s like a rainbow,” crooned Mick Jagger in the song “She’s Like A Rainbow.” Gibert Baker, the designer of the rainbow flag, has credited this Rolling Stones hit as his inspiration for creating queer culture’s most iconic symbols. These lyrics also aptly sum up the vibe of this year’s Long Beach Pride parade, which embraced its theme, “Rhythm of the Rainbow.”
“Despite progress, new barriers emerge. In 2024, we arm ourselves with our greatest weapon and ally: Music,” said Long Beach Pride President Tonya Martin. “We pay homage to the beats that have strengthened our hearts and souls. Our music is a powerful tool against the challenges we face, and with it, we will prevail.”
A commemoration of the historic Stonewall Riots, Pride parades originated in Long Beach’s neighboring city of Los Angeles in 1970. In 1978, Baker’s technicolor banner was incorporated in San Francisco’s Gay Freedom Day Parade, and his design has persisted as queer culture’s primary motif ever since.
The “Rhythm of the Rainbow” theme’s juxtaposition of music alongside color was overtly displayed at this year’s parade. Groups of roller skaters and stilt walkers grooved along to the queer anthems of Madonna and Lady Gaga. A troupe of line dancers scoot stepped to country music, a once conservative genre that has been recently embraced by the LGBTQ+ community thanks to the works of Lil Nas X and Beyonce. This year’s Long Beach Pride posited that it’s important for the LGBTQ+ community to be both seen and heard.
We’ve snatched together some of our favorite images of this year’s Long Beach Pride for those who weren’t there to see and hear the event. This parade was, as the Rolling Stones sang, “like a queen in days of old, she shoots colors all around.” Enjoy the rainbows!
Photography by Mike Ciriaco
