Black Hills Pride Parade marks big milestone despite backlash

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - Rapid City held its first permitted Black Hills pride parade last Saturday, marking a significant milestone for members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Hundreds of people of all ages met in downtown Rapid City to join in on the celebration and ring in the start of Pride Month. The parade was organized by Liberty and Justice for All and the Black Hills Center for Equality.

Ranee Haglund, the community outreach coordinator for Liberty and Justice for All, says the parade was a success and an important milestone for the Black Hills community.

“We live in a state that hasn’t been as accepting and progressive as other states, and so that doesn’t mean that members of that community don’t live here; that just means that they weren’t accepted, they weren’t acknowledged, and they weren’t welcomed, and so it’s extremely important in our community,” Haglund said.

Haglund said extra security was present at the parade to help attendees feel safer, and although the parade remained mostly peaceful, an arrest was made.

Police were involved in a physical confrontation that led to the arrest of 23-year-old Tyler Wright for disorderly conduct and obstruction of law enforcement after screaming obscenities, leading to an altercation with parade participants.

There is also an ongoing investigation involving a different man who pulled a knife during the event. Haglund said neither one of these incidents took away from the historic parade.

“The best way you can respond to those is with kindness, and that’s what we did, or to not acknowledge it at all because we don’t acknowledge hate anymore; hate does not make our state great,” Haglund said.

Liberty and Justice for All and the Black Hills Center for Equality have already begun preparations for next year’s event.

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