Photo of the Week #15: “Hope for the future”
Photo and Text by Mercedes Mehling
I took this photo at the Pride Parade in Portland, Maine this year. Every year the city shuts down Congress Street and thousands of Portland residents come out to celebrate equality.
The thing that I think this photo represents, and what makes Pride so special, is that people of every race, age, gender, and sexual identity come together for a common cause – to celebrate love and kindness towards all people.
At the end of the parade, a 900-foot rainbow flag is unrolled and carried by anyone who wants to lend a hand. It’s a beautiful moment of togetherness, the kind of thing you don’t see too often in our society.
To me, this child holding onto the flag along with thousands of strangers is a hopeful sign for the future and the embodiment of what can happen when we work together.
This image was submitted to our 2017 Our World is Kind Photography Contest.
