June 16-22, 2005

city beat

Pride Unrest

Foes face off at parade.

by Doron Taussig

People of indeterminate gender are walking through the streets of Center City in their underwear. Several men stand in front of a bookstore, wearing mostly glitter. A heavy woman turns a corner with her enormous left breast exposed. It is the Sunday morning of the Philly Pride Parade, and most of the marchers are in celebratory garb. But at Millennium Coffee on 12th Street near Walnut, a group of about 15 youths cover the lower halves of their faces with black bandanas. They are preparing for a fight.

"Anti-Racist Action has a stance of going where there are fascists and confronting them," says Patrick McHale, a big, fleshy member of ARA. The group, founded in 1988, is a network of organizations dedicated to fighting bigotry at the ground level. The "fascists" McHale refers to are Christian protesters: Last year's Philly Outfest garnered national attention when local street preacher Michael Marcavage, who had come to "minister the Bible," was arrested and charged with three felonies [Cover story, "Jesus Geek Superstar," Doron Taussig, Feb. 3, 2005]. Ultimately cleared of the charges, Marcavage promised on his Web site that he would attend the Pride Parade. ARA decided to join him.

"We believe in radical self-defense," McHale explains. When asked what line Marcavage would have to cross to provoke a violent reaction, he only says, "ARA is a militant organization."

Marcavage arrived near the intersection of Broad and Spruce streets around noon, carrying a flag with a cross on it, his trademark bullhorn and the video camera with which he tapes events in order to document potential mistreatment. Both the ARA and the police promptly swarmed him. A sort of slow, awkward circus ensued. Each time Marcavage preached into his bullhorn, ARA members would chant, "Queers Bash Back," at the top of their lungs. When Marcavage instructed parade-goers to "stop the hatred of God," ARA screamed that he was a fascist. Bored-looking police officers periodically repositioned themselves between the two groups, but there was no separating them. They stood in such close quarters that a lollipop, thrown at Marcavage, hit an ARA member. And yet they spoke to one another very little, fighting instead for the attention of a crowd clearly preoccupied with dance music.

Toward the end of the event, McHale complained that "the cops have been extremely hostile to us. It shows the general homophobia of the Philadelphia Police Department." Marcavage did not return calls, but a policeman said Marcavage also expressed displeasure with the department's handling of the various protests.

"The bottom line is, there were no arrests, no violence and no vandalism," said Capt. Bill Fisher of the Civil Affairs Unit. "For me, that's a pretty good day at the office."