Macon Pride hosted its annual “Pride in the Park” celebration with a bustling lineup of churches, activists, vendors and LGBTQ+ organizations on Saturday in Third Street Park. Pride in the Park headlined a four-day celebration of Macon’s queer community from Sept. 25-28.
The event started at 2 p.m. with a two-hour low sensory format, which delayed the use of loud speakers and music for guests with sensory sensitivities. Crowds took advantage of this time to participate in yoga lessons, cornhole, artwork and stroll past the dozens of tents handing out keepsakes, crafts and informational flyers.
Among the circle of organizations included Free Mom Hugs, Democratic Socialists of America, local pop-up shops and Wesleyan College’s Queer Student Organization (QSO).
“You’re free to be yourself, there’s no judgement,” Wesleyan QSO President Isabelle Farley ‘26 said. “You can find family.”
QSO handed out letters of encouragement written by the student body, one of which encouraged the reader to not, “let anyone dim your light, you’re beautiful.”
Macon-Bibb County District Attorney Anita Howard said, “We should be in support of one another because I know that we are stronger when we are together.”
Around 4 p.m., prior to a late afternoon drag show, Howard walked on stage in her pride-themed blue jeans to address the crowd.
Howard embraced the LGBTQ+ community and championed her office’s October 2024 conviction of Brian Greene for the 2022 murder of Glenn Stevens and Elijah Rasheed, who Howard said was a gay man.
Howard’s 2025-26 issue magazine, Justice, said Rasheed’s murder was believed by investigators to be a “hate crime.” She did not state Greene’s name in the speech, “It’s not about him, it’s about Elijah, and that’s who we gonna remember.”
At the entrance of Pride in the Park, pedestrians were welcomed by the “Angel Brigade,” a group of around 10 volunteers donning wings made from white fabric and wooden rods. The brigade was formed by a group of six Macon churches to guide pedestrians past a handful of protestors from Operation Gospel at the cross walks, Sarah Roche said. Roche volunteered at the event with High Street Unitarian Universalist Church.
“We come out here to be the salt and light at the pride events,” Operation Gospel’s Interim Director of Communications Christopher Smith said, “Jesus said you are the salt of the world, you are the light of the world.”
Smith said he was arrested three times for the use of an audio amplifier at past demonstrations, an action which he said was not illegal.
Citing Article Ⅱ section 15-26 (c) in Macon-Bibb County’s code of ordinances, Smith said his use of the amplifier fits into the legal exception for, “The reasonable use of amplifiers or loudspeakers in the course of public addresses which are noncommercial in character.”
"There's fantastic people here who are very open and welcome and accepting, and there are always going to be a few people who take issues with that," Roche said in response to the protestors.
Nathaniel Jordan '29 intends to major in Journalism at Mercer and hopes to work as an investigative journalist. His hobbies include poetry, photography and home cooking, and you can probably find him around Macon shopping or walking through local parks with his wife and son.
