Global LGBTQ Community Preps for Virtual Pride
COVID pandemic has opened up the opportunity for a cross-cultural celebration
The NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project is going back in time to review the organizing effort behind the
1970 Christopher Street Day Liberation March. one of the celebrities participating in virtual Global
movement, but the release did not
mention any specifi c leaders.
Natalie Thompson, a co-chair of
Global Pride’s organizing committee,
said in a written statement,
“As a Black woman in the LGBTQIA+
community, I feel we must
COURTESY OF THE NYC LGBT HISTORIC SITES PROJECT
confront the systemic racism and
violence facing my Black brothers,
sisters and non-binary siblings, in
the larger culture and within the
LGBQIA+ community. I could not
think of a larger platform than
Global Pride to do this.”
➤ PRIDE WEEKEND, from p.10
tivist, and Victoria Cruz, a retired domestic violence
counselor at the Anti-Violence Project. The
LGBTQ homeless youth organization Ali Forney
Center, originally planned as a grand marshal,
has relinquished its role to Black Lives Matter
of Greater New York. Janelle Monáe, Deborah
Cox, Billy Porter, Luísa Sonza, and others will
also be performing. Wilson Cruz, Miss Richfi
eld 1981, and Margaret Cho will be making
appearances.
On Sunday, Reclaim Pride’s Queer Liberation
March for Black Lives and Against Police
Brutality will step off at 1 p.m. at Foley Square.
Reclaim Pride, which held its fi rst march on
Pride Sunday last year, is calling for a 50 percent
Thompson continued, “We have
been watching an epidemic of violence
against trans people of color
— mostly women — in the past
decade and this larger discussion
must be inclusive and all encompassing.
All Black Lives Matter.”
Organizers from Canada, the
United States, Mexico, the United
Kingdom, Germany, Norway, Sweden,
the Netherlands, Latvia, Bulgaria,
Italy, Spain, Switzerland,
Greece, South Africa, and Australia
are helping to produce the virtual
event.
Groups also involved in the organizing
effort include the European
Pride Organisers Association, InterPride,
US Association of Prides,
OLA Orgullo Latinoamerica, CSD
Deutschland, Svenska Pride, and
UK Pride Organisers Network.
See a complete list of volunteers at
globalpride2020.org/team/.
NYC Pride, the local group that
organizes the annual LGBTQ Pride
March and related events and is
hosting, among other events, a
virtual Pride celebration on June
28, to be telecast on ABC 7, will be
participating in the global event
the year before.
A specifi c schedule of events is
not yet available; those details will
be released on the week of June
20, according to organizers. The
virtual Global Pride program will
be streamed on YouTube and at
globalpride2020.org.
reduction in the NYPD’s budget as well as
a 50 percent cut in the police force, and instead
redirect those funds into housing, healthcare,
education, and justice for Black communities.
“We’re horrifi ed by the police murders of
George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade,
Layleen Polanco, Rayshard Brooks and untold
numbers of others,” Reclaim Pride’s Francesca
Barjon said in a written statement. “And
we’re mourning the endless violent deaths of
Black trans women and men like Dominique
‘Rem’mie’ Fells and Riah Milton. So, inspired by
the historic, Black-led protest movement that
has taken to the streets here in NYC and across
the world, Reclaim Pride supports demands for
immediate defunding, disarming, and dismantling
of police forces.
PRIDE
BY MATT TRACY
Queer communities from
around the globe will
gather for a virtual,
24-hour Global Pride
event on June 27 that will continue
highlighting the international
movement to address racism and
police brutality following the police
murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
The virtual event will feature
numerous performances as well
as messages from world leaders including
former Vice President Joe
Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi,
Canadian Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau, Irish Prime Minister
Leo Varadkar, and key celebrities
such as Laverne Cox, Adam Lambert,
Kesha, and Todrick Hall.
The coronavirus pandemic has
opened up the opportunity for a
cross-cultural, trans-national celebration
The international global event
comes one year after New York City
hosted WorldPride on the 50th anniversary
of the Stonewall Uprising.
The event’s virtual setting in
2020 refl ects a broader shift toward
bringing Pride events online
for now due to the coronavirus
pandemic.
A press release detailing the
event stated that Global Pride organizers
will be working with
founders of the Black Lives Matter
COURTESY OF THE NYC LGBT HISTORIC SITES PROJECT
The NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project is going back in time to review
the organizing effort behind the 1970 Christopher Street Day Liberation
March. one of the celebrities participating in virtual Global
Pride festivities on June 27.
June 25- July 15, 2 12 020 | GayCityNews.com
/
/globalpride2020.org
/GayCityNews.com
