NYC Pride is becoming a protest again
New York City’s Pride parade will give a bigger emphasis to protest this year, with activists taking a focus ahead of corporate sponsors.
A number of Pride events across the US have announced they will adopt a more serious tone this summer in response to the federal government’s shifting anti-LGBT stances.
Earlier this month LA Pride announced it would be a “resistance”, in response to attacks on transgender and LGB rights from the Trump administration.
New York Pride has now followed suit, confirming that activist groups hoping to challenge the federal government will play a greater role in its June 25 march.
NYC’s Gay City News reports that the resistance groups will march near the front of the parade – behind the grand marshals and the Sirens Women’s Motorcycle Club, who have led the parade for three decades.
The activist groups who pushed the Pride organisers to make the change included Rise + Resist, ACT Up, United Thru Action and Gays Against Guns.
Ken Kidd, an activist who led the demands for a greater resistance presence, said: “I’m extremely proud of the people who came out to raise their voices about this, and I think it’s emblematic of the people who are going to show up proudly on June 25.”
Heritage of Pride, the non-profit organisation that plans and produces NYC Pride, confirmed the news in a statement.
They said: “While no one group owned the resistance hashtag, it was clear that those in the room were capable of rallying peers to take action.
“This is why we feel confident in enabling the leadership present in those conversations to band together in the interest of reaching their goal of a strong message of resistance to the current political leadership.
“Recognising these groups’ request that a strong element of non-celebratory protest be included in the front section of the March, we will place the collective group within the lead section of the 2017 event.”
This week, budget documents revealed that the Trump administration is planning savage cuts to the HIV/AIDS prevention budget despite previous claims it would remain ringfenced.
The White House also quietly revoked part of Obama’s discrimination protections for LGBT workers, less than two months after directly promising he would not repeal Obama’s discrimination protections for LGBT workers.
