PRIDE
A Look Ahead to Upcoming NYC Pride, Related Events
Due to COVID-19, slate of annual events are being held largely online
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 Black Town
Hall series June 19-21, 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.
Due to COVID-19, slate of annual
events are being held largely online
The LGBT Community Center is
hosting its annual Garden Party in
virtual fashion on June 22.
The Dyke March, though, is
planned as a street action, but is
being transformed this year in response
to protests targeting white
supremacy and police brutality.
Rather than having a regular
march, organizers are asking participants
to assist in protests led
by Black New Yorkers. The team
at the Dyke March will participate
in the Break the Chains With
Love March, a Juneteenth protest
on June 19 at 6 p.m. at Brooklyn
Bridge Park. Learn more at the
Dyke March website, nycdykemarch.
com.
The star-studded Black Queer
Town Hall series, being produced
in a partnership between NYC
Pride and GLAAD, will be hosted
by Peppermint and Bob the Drag
Queen at 6:30 p.m. nightly beginning
on June 19 through June 21.
There will be performances,
roundtable discussions, and appearances
featuring celebrities
including Mj Rodriguez, Laverne
Cox, Angelica Ross, Isis King, Todrick
The massive crowds at Heritage of Pride’s annual march, complete with balloons and fl oats, won’t be on
the streets this year due to COVID, but there are plenty of virtual and some in-person events to make a
Pride of it.
The Black Queer Town Hall, hosted by Peppermint and Bob the Drag Queen, takes place June 19 through
21.
Hall, Alex Newell, Basit, Monet
X Change, Tiq Milan, and Shea
Diamond.
The series is replacing the 2020
Drag Fest, which was swapped out
in an effort to center Black queer
voices and allow for healing, rejoicing,
mourning, and love.
The June 22 Garden Party virtual
event will begin at 6:30 p.m.
and focus on activism and advocacy.
Kalen Allen, Justin Vivian
Bond, Don Lemon, Lea DeLaria,
Leo Sheng, Marti Gould Cummings,
Jacob Tobia, the New York
City Gay Men’s Chorus, and others
DONNA ACETO
PHOTO NYC PRIDE
will participate in the event.
Registration is free at gaycenter.
org/gardenparty/registration, and
attendees will be provided with a
curated food and cocktail menu
they can prepare, a Pride-themed
playlist, and a digital dance fl oor
featuring DJ BBARI.
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 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 at-
➤ UPCOMING PRIDE EVENTS continued on p.26
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