TYLER, Texas — Hundreds gathered for a half-mile walk Sunday to celebrate Pride for the second year in a row at the Tyler Pride March in the city's downtown area.
During the walk from the downtown square to Front Street, attendees chanted "this is what democracy looks like," and "love is love."
For Tyler resident Allyson Runk, this event was more than just a march but rather a celebration.
"This is my first year being out of the closet with my parents, so I'm just very excited to be here," Runk said. "Because I don't feel like I have to hide who I am anymore."
This event became an opportunity to celebrate identity. Her friend Jillian Whitener, of Dallas, came to Tyler to also celebrate with East Texans.
"I'm still kind of used to hiding myself too," Whitener said. "It wasn't really until this year that I first got comfortable with kind of being where I'm at and who I am."
Identity isn’t easy for everyone to find alone, which is why this year, according to event organizer Raynie Castañeda the Pride march event vendor fees all went to two East Texas transgender support groups.
"Living here my whole life it's hard to see how much unsupportive people there are," said Rose Johnson, a member of East Texas Trans Youth. "But it's also beautiful to see how many of the sweetest people I've ever met also being here to support."
Many East Texans like Tyler Area Gays Chair Jay Hilburn believe Tyler is very conservative, but during the event they felt the support from their community.
"Because Tyler is a tough city, we don't have a lot of LGBT opportunities here," Hilburn said. "Events like this are very important."
Runk added the gathering showed people can authentically be themselves in Tyler with or without labels.
"I was a person who’s struggled with their identity a lot, because I didn't really know what label I was," Runk said. "You don't need a label, you can just be a person. I know labels are really important to some people, but if you're struggling to find the label you don't have to have one. You could just be gay and be done with it."
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