Hundreds of people — young and old, black and white and Asian, gay and straight, Christian ministers, Jewish rabbis, Muslims, and a Quaker poet — gathered in Albany on Saturday to “stand up against all forms of hate"” as organizer Fazana Saleem-Ismail put it.

A week ago, a friend of ours took part in Albany’s Pride parade. She spoke of how happy and together people felt that day. Gay men and lesbian women who had struggled so long and hard for acceptance could march in a parade, waving a flag of many colors, a symbol of their pride. And people cheered.