Boston Pride Parade highlights nation's founding and fight for LGBTQ+ rights

Thousands of people lined the streets of the Back Bay Saturday for the Boston Pride for the People Parade, marking the start of Pride Month with a celebration of visibility, community and advocacy.

The parade stretched from Copley Square to Boston Common with marchers, supporters and more than 300 groups taking part in what organizers described as the largest Pride celebration and empowerment event in New England.

"We're here in Boston Common, happy Pride," one attendee said.

This year's theme, "Pride as Protest Since 1776," highlighted both the nation's founding and the ongoing fight for LGBTQ+ rights and freedoms.

For many participants, the event remains as much a demonstration as it is a celebration.

"I think it's great. The world is changing and I'm here for the change," attendee Ciara Knight told CBS News Boston.

The parade featured organizations raising money and spreading awareness while honoring members of the LGBTQ+ community who have fought for equality throughout American history.

"Though identities were not always named, queer people were present in every era and every community throughout our history," Gary Daffin, a Boston Pride for the People volunteer, said in a statement.

"From early acts of resistance to modern movements for equality, LGBTQIA+ people have long understood that progress requires action. Whether advocating for our own rights or standing in solidarity with other communities, we have helped bend what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called 'the arc of the moral universe' toward justice."

Organizers and attendees emphasized themes of courage, freedom and unity throughout the day.

"In a place like Massachusetts, you're seen, you're heard, you're appreciated. We stand for community, for courage, for freedom," said Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll. "Freedom to be your authentic self, freedom to love who you love. While other places are tearing places apart, not here. We stand together, we stand united."

Driscoll was joined at the parade by Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, one of two openly lesbian governors in the country. 

This year's parade and festival served as the kickoff to Pride Month celebrations in Boston. The event was moved up from its usual date later in June because FIFA World Cup festivities are scheduled to begin across Massachusetts next week. 

There were no reports of any incidents or arrests, according to Boston Police.