U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Maryland), Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen, and Dr. Shvilla Rasheem have been named Grand Marshals of Baltimore’s 50th Anniversary Pride Parade.
The parade will begin Saturday at 12 p.m. at Charles Street and North Avenue and will wind through the heart of Baltimore, ending at Charles Street and 29th Street.
“I am so honored to be leading Baltimore’s 50th Pride Parade as Grand Marshal,” Alsobrooks told Baltimore Fishbowl. “I am looking forward to being with our community in love and appreciation for our LGBTQ community. At a time when this Administration continues to threaten the LGBTQ community, we will embrace each other, uplift each other, and fight for each other because everyone deserves the freedom to be who they are.”
When Alsobrooks was Prince George’s County Executive, she appointed the first-ever LGBTQ+ liaison to help members of the community connect to county resources. She was the first county executive to fly the Progress Pride flag over county government buildings. When she ran for U.S. Senate in 2024, she promised to continue to stand up for the rights of LGBTQ+ Americans, “including the right to marry, grow their families, and live free from discrimination.” She also vowed to oppose Republican efforts to undermine equality and strenuously fight anti-trans legislation put forth.
“Angela believes we must speak out against anti-trans hate and violence, from bullying in our schools, to violent hate-based crimes, to discriminatory legislation,” read her campaign website. She is only the third Black women ever elected to the U.S. Senate and the first Black senator from Maryland.
Cohen served as the Baltimore City Councilmember for the city’s 1st District from 2016 until becoming City Council President in 2024. In April 2019, Cohen sponsored the Gender-Inclusive Single-User Restroom bill. This bill requires all single-user restrooms to have gender-inclusive signage, ensuring Baltimore is safe and welcoming for all genders. It was the first bill in Baltimore’s history to be signed at a Pride Parade.
After signing the bill, he posted on X (formerly Twitter), “To our trans and gender non binary brothers, sisters and siblings: We see you, we hear you, and we love you.” Another user called him out for prioritizing this issue, saying, “You are better than this.”
Cohen answered, “It is an issue for the trans teacher who was harassed so badly she is leaving the classroom. It is an issue for the non binary student who was bullied outside a bathroom and contemplated suicide. I am NOT better than the people I serve. #TransLivesMatter.”
Rasheem is an independent scholar and social science researcher who has been a professor at Morgan State University since September 2022. She has worked with many Baltimore organizations serving marginalized groups through art and outreach, like Youthworks, Creative Alliance, Roberta’s House and Associated Black Charities. Her research focuses on inequality, gender dynamics, sexuality, intersectionality, and diverse feminisms.
