Pride
The massive crowds at Heritage of Pride’s annual march, complete with balloons and floats, won’t be on the streets this year PHOTO BY DONNA ACETO
due to COVID, but there are plenty of virtual and some in-person events to make a Pride of it.
BY MATT TRACY
Heritage of Pride has
planned a virtual slate
of Pride festivities in
New York City after canceling the
original in-person plans due to the
coronavirus pandemic.
Also known as NYC Pride,
HOP, which produces the city’s
main annual Pride March and
related festivities, is holding a
human rights conference on June
25, a rally on June 26, a 5k run,
and a special television broadcast
event on June 28 that will replace
the usual Pride March.
There are also events on the
agenda that are not being produced
by NYC Pride — most of
them, but not all, virtual. The
Reclaim Pride Coalition has
planned a June 28 street march focused
on Black justice issues.
NYC Pride’s Human Rights
Conference, which will have a
focus on activism and issues in
the community, is slated to be an
all-day event on June 25, beginning
at 9:30 a.m. and wrapping
up at 6:30 p.m. on YouTube and
Facebook. Registration is free.
Only some of the panels have
been announced to date and
specifi c start times are not yet
Celebrating Pride virtually
during the pandemic
available. The panels include
“Health Panel: Impacting Our
Communities: COVID 19” focusing
on the disparities faced by
queer communities of color and
immigrants; “Anti-Trans Violence
and the Role of Guns” centering
on the effects of gun violence on
trans, non-binary, and gender
non-conforming people, particularly
Black transgender folks; and
“State of the LGBTQIA+ Media.”
The media panel will be
moderated by Brooke Sopelsa,
editorial director at NBC Out,
and include Mike Doyle from
Ketchum, a global public relations
fi rm, Monica Trasandes,
director of Spanish-language and
Latinx media at GLAAD, and
Raquel Willis, the noted Black
transgender activist, writer, and
media strategist.
There will also be a fi reside
chat led by Ashlee Marie Preston,
who became the fi rst trans
woman to lead a national publication,
Wear Your Voice Magazine,
as well as Jonathan Van Ness of
“Queer Eye,” though the specifi c
time for that event also has not yet
been announced.
The following day, June 26, will
be the Friday evening NYC Pride
Rally that will take place from 5
p.m. to 8 p.m. on YouTube and
Facebook. The event will be hosted
by Preston and transgender
actor Brian Michael Smith, who
has appeared on shows including
“Queen Sugar” on OWN, as well
as “Chicago PD,” “Girls,” and
“Homeland.”
Among many speakers on
tap to participate in the event
include Ceyenne Doroshow, Annie
Segarra, Edafe Okporo, and
Leandro E. Rodriguez Ramos.
The teams at GLAAD and the
National LGBTQ Task Force will
also discuss why it is so crucial
for queer people to participate in
the Census and to register to vote.
The Runstreet Virtual 5K Art
Run encourages folks to wear
their favorite Rainbow-colored
attire during a run throughout
their neighborhood. Those who
participate are asked to snap a
selfi e or a photo of the scenery
on their run and upload the photo
to Instagram. Tag @Runstreet in
the post to enter a photo contest.
Those who would like to take part
in the run can purchase tickets,
which cost $10, at runstreet.
com/events/nyc-pride-art-run,
and should complete their run
between June 20 and June 28.
What was supposed to be
Heritage of Pride’s main event on
June 28 will instead be a two-hour
program on ABC 7, which usually
airs the annual Pride March.
This event will focus on front-line
workers during the coronavirus
pandemic and feature a handful
of grand marshals: Dan Levy,
creator of “Schitt’s Creek,” the
Ali Forney Center, Yanzi Peng,
a Chinese LGBTQ activist, and
Victoria Cruz, a retired domestic
violence counselor at the Anti-
Violence Project. There will be
performances by Janelle Monáe,
Deborah Cox, Billy Porter, Luísa
Sonza, and more. Also making
an appearance will be Wilson
Cruz, Miss Richfi eld 1981, and
Margaret Cho, among others.
Regarding the annual Trans
Day of Action, the Audre Lorde
Project said in an April 27 announcement
that the team has
instead decided to “do a cyber
shift” this year by focusing on
connecting folks to resources,
helping folks get released from
prison and detention centers, and
ensuring that members have food
to eat and places to stay.
The Criminal Queerness Festival,
produced by Adam Odsess-
Rubin’s National Queer Theater
and Dixon Place, is featuring a
range of virtual play readings,
panels, workshops, and cocktail
parties. The festival, which spotlights
the work of playwrights
and other artists from around the
globe who are facing censorship,
began June 9 and continues until
June 29.
This story fi rst appeared on
gaycitynews.com.
6 June 25, 2020 Schneps Media
/gaycitynews.com
