WASHINGTON – “It’s not just a party. It’s a powerful statement: We’re here, we matter, and we’re not going anywhere,” said Sara Cunningham, founder of Free Mom Hugs, an Oklahoma City group participating in the WorldPride D.C. parade.

For around six hours, over 200 groups paraded along Washington’s streets celebrating free love with unbridled joy sending a powerful sense of connection filled the air. Amid the crowd, warm embraces reached over metal barriers, not from family reunions, but from volunteers with Free Mom Hugs.

The women say they are on a mission to empower the world to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community through visibility, education and heartfelt conversation.

“WorldPride in D.C. feels different because it’s happening in the heart of our nation’s capital during one of the most critical times in our country’s history. The visibility, the activism, the celebration- it all takes on new weight and meaning when you’re surrounded by the very institutions that are shaping the future,” Cunningham said in an interview with Gaylord News.

What began as a modest block party on June 22, 1975, has grown into a vibrant two-day celebration featuring renowned artists, activists and allies rallying behind a vital cause.

Fifty years ago, Deacon Maccubin, owner of one of D.C.’s few LGBTQIA+ bookstores, was inspired by New York’s Pride events to bring that same spirit to his own city. With permission to close off 20th Street NW, he launched “Gay Pride Day” as a grassroots gathering. It featured just a few booths, some music and food but it attracted over 2,000 people, laying the foundation for what would become a powerful tradition of pride and progress.

Cunningham said when the Oklahoma City chapter of Free Mom Hugs shows up at events like WorldPride, they’re not just showing that they exist- they’re showing that love, courage and community are alive and well in Oklahoma, and that they’re bringing that spirit with them all the way to D.C.

Cunningham understands that representation from places like Oklahoma matters.

“We are often written off as too red, too conservative, too far gone- but that’s not the whole story,” Cunningham said.

She said that there are LGBTQIA+ people and allies fighting every day in places like hers, where being out and proud is still a risk.

Cunningham spent years grappling with her son Parker’s sexuality, caught between her conservative Oklahoma upbringing, her Christian faith and her deep love for him. As she grew more involved with the LGBTQIA+ community, she became increasingly aware of the injustice many faced and felt compelled to act. Ten years ago, Cunningham attended the Oklahoma City Pride Festival wearing a homemade button that read “Free Mom Hugs,” offering hugs to anyone who made eye contact. This simple act would then turn into a nationwide movement having chapters in all 50 states and other initiatives forming globally.

Cunningham said the heart of their message is this: “When you show up for the LGBTQIA+ community with love, education, and visibility- lives are changed. And sometimes, lives are saved. Whether it’s through a hug, a conversation, or simply standing alongside someone in their truth, we want people to know that allyship is powerful, healing, and absolutely necessary.”

Gaylord News is a reporting project of the University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. For more stories by Gaylord News go to GaylordNews.net.