➤ GLOBAL BLACK PRIDE, from p.6
space as a side event, not front and
center of the white mainstream
LGBTQ movement, and have largely
been invisible. The Black gay
agenda, Ighodaro said, is focused
on decriminalization of same-sex
relationships and police brutality,
not same-sex marriage or to serve
openly in the military — and Black
queer issues have not gained the
white majority support.
Mind-blowing
The overwhelming response to
the Global Black Pride event has
shown that there is strong demand
for such an initiative.
“People have been so enthusiastic,
and the response has been
so mind-blowing,” Ighodaro said.
“They never knew how important
a global Pride would be until we
started this initiative. There is the
space and the need for it.”
Nathanson added, “It goes to
show not only how important this
event is, but how crucial it is for
this event to happen.”
Andre Thomas, the fi rst gay
Black man to co-chair Heritage of
Pride, Inc., which produces New
York City’s main Pride March and
related events, was happy to discover
the event, even though it was
after it passed.
“I defi nitely felt thrilled that
there was a space that could connect
this community on a much
larger scale than has been in the
past,” Thomas wrote in an email.
Thomas assumed his role in
2020. He is using his position to
“redress the inequities in the Pride
movement,” he wrote.
“The Pride movement was started
by the most marginalized in our
community and has made many
gains since the Stonewall Riots,
but it hasn’t necessarily served
those who started the movement
in a way that best befi ts their
struggles,” said Thomas, who was
born in Trinidad and Tobago, but
now calls New York home. “Black
Pride has been a reaction to this,
but also to both recognize this and
give space to Black people to experience
the joy of Pride in the ways
they want to.”
“Black people are part of this
movement,” Ighodaro said, noting
that two of the initiators of
Pride were two Black transgender
women — Marsha P. Johnson and
Miss Major Griffi n-Gracy — as well
as a Black butch lesbian Stormé
DeLarverie. And there are Black
LGBTQ leaders and Black Prides
across the globe.
“Our goal was to create a space
and to bring everyone together
to have a platform to connect, to
share, and to celebrate,” said Ighodaro.
Global Black Pride leadership
Global Black Pride announced
the organization’s leadership team
and new website last month.
The global team is made up of
LGBTQ Black activists from Africa,
the Caribbean, Europe, and North
America, according to a November
17 press release.
British political activist and cofounder
of UK Black Pride Phyll
Opoku-Gyimah was tapped to
serve as director of Global Black
Pride’s human rights conference.
Ighodaro, the network’s visionary,
is joined by Nathanson,
Garth, and Kenita Placide, chief of
fi nance. Monroe France, New York
University’s senior associate vice
president for global engagement
and inclusive leadership, will serve
as chair of Global Black Pride’s
advisory board. Ighodaro is an
activist, public health expert, and
community engagement strategist.
Nathanson is the new OutRight
Action International senior advisor
for the Global Trans Program
and founder of the Trans Research
Education Advocacy and Training.
Placide is a human rights, HIV,
and LGBTQ activist and is the coexecutive
director of United and
Strong Inc., Saint Lucia’s fi rst and
only LGBTQ organization. Garth is
an award-winning editor and journalist
and chief operating offi cer at
Arming Minorities Against Addiction
and Disease.
The Pride organization plans to
create a global fund to support organizers
and experiences around
the globe, including the launch of a
scholarship fund, the leaders said.
The leaders said they plan to host
the annual Pride event switching
from the hybrid in-person/virtual
and virtual format every other year
starting in 2022. The hybrid event
will be hosted by different cities
around the world.
For more information, visit www.
globalblackPride.org.
Pediatricians recommend
the COVID-19 vaccine
for 5-17 year olds.
have a
Will my child getting
heart issue after a COVID-19 vaccine?
number of
been a small There have myocarditis and
reported heart issues (COVID-19
receiving a pericarditis) after effects are rare. The
side vaccine. These of COVID-19 vaccination
health benefits than the potential risks.
are greater CHILD VACCINATED.
COVID19.
YOUR SAVE LIVES. GET covidvaccine
or call 212-VACCINES vaccines, visit nyc.gov/
COVID-19 about COVID-19 To learn more Bill de Blasio
Mayor
Dave A. Chokshi, MD, MSc
Health Commissioner
GayCityNews.com | December 3 - December 15, 2021 7
/globalblackPride.org
/www.globalblackPride.org
/www.globalblackPride.org
/nyc.gov
/GayCityNews.com
