For 50 years, Baltimore PRIDE has been advocating for the LGBTQ+ community. That advocacy continued with a rally near the Washington Monument in the Mount Vernon neighborhood. 

Cleo Manago, the , said there was a lot of pain and suffering. Two years after the rally, activists formed the Gay Community Center of Baltimore.

"This community was in the shadows," Manago said. "This was a community, regardless of race, that was fighting for its life."

Baltimore Pride has evolved

Manago said the Gay Community Center of Baltimore started as a small group of people looking for community. It later evolved, but Manago said the group initially lacked diversity. 

"When it first came into being, it focused on men, and it primarily focused on white gay men," Manago said.

Then, the group became the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Baltimore after women fought for space within the organization. It became the Pride Center of Maryland in 2019.

50 years of Baltimore Pride history

As Manago looked through archives from the University of Baltimore, he found images within the Pride collection.

"While these pictures of people are smiling, this was a difficult time, and we had no idea that AIDS was coming," Manago said.

In the 1980s, the organization shifted its response to provide resources as the HIV/AIDS epidemic swept through the community.

"In the thousands, we were dying left and right," Manago said. "HIV/AIDS was a primary motivator to create the groundswell to lead to support services and care."

From there, Manago said the group advocated for same-sex marriage legislation, among other issues. However, he said the fight for equality didn't always include all.

"People that looked like me were not heard, were not seen," Manago said.

Progress being made

Manago said people of color were often left out of the conversation. Since then, he said things have changed and there's been progress.

"We have to build on that progress by creating a more authentically inclusive, empowerment, and affirmation-justice seeking agenda," Manago said

Now, the Pride Center provides several programs and resources to fully represent the community it serves. 

Although Manago is unsure of what the future holds for the Pride Center, he said that as he continues to lead the charge there, it will remain a space that truly welcomes all.

"I'm going to continue to do work that is reparative, work that creates space that otherwise would not be created," Manago said.

Manago said the center is filling in the gaps that were created in the effort for justice. 

He said it's important that everyone feels seen and safe at the Pride Center of Maryland.