LA Pride Parade grand marshals announced

Margaret Cho, the ACLU of Southern California, and a posthumous honor to Leslie Jordan will be the grand marshals at the LA Pride Parade on June 11.

“I’m thrilled and incredibly honored to be the Icon Grand Marshal,” said Cho in a statement. “We need this Pride more than ever. I have been attending Pride celebrations since 1978 and this time around the need to celebrate as well as unite is more urgent than it has ever been. Our love is greater than their hate.”

Cho was LA Pride’s Morris Kight Lifetime Achievement Grand Marshal in 2011. 

Leslie Jordan

Jordan, an Emmy-award winning actor who identified as gay, is perhaps best known as playing Beverly Leslie, Karen Walker’s nemesis, on “Will & Grace.” Jordan died in October.

Jordan will be remembered in a custom tribute with a new grand marshal designation, the Legacy Grand Marshal that will “celebrate those who have made an everlasting impact on the hearts and lives of our community.” The contingent will feature a custom vehicle and a small group of Jordan’s friends and family. 

“On behalf of Leslie Jordan, we are overjoyed by Christopher Street West’s heartfelt recognition to name Leslie as LA Pride’s Legacy Grand Marshal,” said Jordan’s sister Jana “Cricket” Jordan. “This honor further solidifies the positive impact he made in the world, but more importantly for the LGBTQ+ community. His spirit continues to bring love and light.”

Fighting, winning against LAPD

The ACLU of Southern California will be recognized as the Community Grand Marshal, celebrating a group or individual who has had a powerful influence through their work and dedication to the LGBTQ+ community.

LA Pride and the ACLU SoCal have a history dating to the first year LA Pride was formed. In 1970, the ACLU joined LA Pride co-founders and sued the LA Police Commissioner for the right to hold a parade, which commemorated the first anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. The case went all the way to the California Supreme Court, and LA Pride won, making it the first permitted gay pride parade in the world.

LA Pride Parade grand Marshals Parade route

Margaret Cho, the ACLU of Southern California, and a posthumous honor to Leslie Jordan will be the grand marshals at the LA Pride Parade on June 11. Photo: Provided by LA Pride.

Parade route

The parade will kick off at 11 a.m., heading north at Sunset Boulevard and Highland Avenue. It will then go onto Hollywood Boulevard, then south onto Cahuenga Boulevard. It will end at Sunset and Cahuenga boulevard.

Also, LA Pride Village will return to Hollywood Boulevard from noon to 8 p.m. It will feature two entertainment stages, a local vendor market, food trucks, drinks, and dancing.

About the author

Phillip Zonkel

Award-winning journalist Phillip Zonkel spent 17 years at Long Beach's Press-Telegram, where he was the first reporter in the paper's history to have a beat covering the city's vibrant LGBTQ. He also created and ran the popular and innovative LGBTQ news blog, Out in the 562.

He won two awards and received a nomination for his reporting on the local LGBTQ community, including a two-part investigation that exposed anti-gay bullying of local high school students and the school districts' failure to implement state mandated protections for LGBTQ students.

Share This

Share this post with your friends!