By Virlinda Stanton
From a multitude of activities for all ages to up close and personal chats, the Dallas Pride two-day event took place June 1-2, 2024 at Fair Park in Dallas, Texas.
Festivities kicked off with the Dallas Pride Music Festival on June 1 followed by the Dallas Pride Parade and Sunday Festival on June 2.
Iconic actor, singer and LGBTQ+ advocate Billy Porter served as honorary grand marshal for the parade and took time during his Dallas stop to chat with students at a summer the-ater camp.
Porter answered questions ranging from how much his hair cost to the definition of “pride,” much to the delight of those who gazed with amazement at hearing from the legendary performer.
“Spaces like this are moments like this where we get to come together and recharge and revive ourselves so that we can go and fight,” Porter said. “It’s a fight. It has always been a fight, know that and understand it’s all going to be okay.”
The discussion allowed Porter to share views on being an entertainer.
“My art is my calling, it’s my ministry,” Porter said. “I’ve been doing this since I was 11 years old. I don’t know anything else, I really don’t, and I’ve been blessed to be successful at it.”
Porter feels his role on the television series “POSE” brought revelation and opened up a space that was previously suppressed.
“As a HIV Positive person who held that information in for 14 years was shamed, the stigma silenced me,” Porter shared. “Also living through the AIDS crisis there was this shame I put on myself that I was supposed to know better.”
Porter admitted to questioning, “Why was I still here?”
“The gift of POSE cracked open a depth of healing that I didn’t imagine would ever be possible,” Porter said. “It’s one of the greatest gifts that I’ve ever been given, was to be able to remind people that we’re here, are here and we’re not going anywhere.”
The students gathered around Porter received the gift of hearing from a legend who unapologetically shines.
VirLinda Stanton is a singer, actress, author and founder of Overcomer’s For Life Corporation.
