Starkville, Mississippi got its previously-denied LGBTQ Pride parade and it was the city's largest parade ever.
Pride organizers in the city of Starkville, Mississippi got the go ahead earlier this month to proceed with a March 24 LGBTQ Pride parade after Mayor Lynn Spruill broke a 3-3 tie between aldermen during a revote on the event.
The revote happened after a federal lawsuit was filed against the city.
And the Starkville Daily News reports that record-breaking crowds turned out:
Close to 3,000 people flooded downtown Starkville on Saturday for the first LGBTQ Pride parade in the city's history….
…Spruill has been a vocal supporter of the group and praised the turnout made possible by the high level of attention brought to the situation.
“I never expected to have this many people,” Spruill said. “Somewhere between 2,500 and 3,000 people and this would never have happened if we didn't have the controversy, so I'm almost grateful for the controversy in the sense it became something more than it ever would have been and it became something we can be very proud of, with no issues associated with it.”
