Boston Pride dissolves amid allegations of racism and lack of inclusion

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The group that produces the main Boston Pride festivities has officially closed its doors amid allegations of structural racism and lack of inclusion within the organization.

In a July 9 statement, the Boston Pride board of directors announced its decision to disband the group a year after former employees and organizers tore the organization apart for not publicly supporting “Black Lives Matter” in the aftermath of the police murder of George Floyd. The Boston Pride shutdown also comes as several LGBTQ organizations boycott the group over persistent diversity and inclusion issues and according to the Boston Globe, the announcement came after Linda DeMarco said she would resign over complaints. that the organization had left out trans people and trans people. colored.

“It is clear to us that our community needs and wants change without the involvement of Boston Pride,” the leaders said in a written statement. “We have heard concerns from the QTBIPOC community and others. We worry too much about getting in the way. As a result, Boston Pride is in the process of being dissolved. There will be no other events or programming planned, and the Board of Directors is taking action to shut down the organization. “

For years, members have accused Boston Pride of failing to foster a welcoming environment for people of color. In response, former Boston Pride employees created the LGBTQ Pride For People organization to resist alleged racist actions. The group also called for the resignation of the management of the board of directors.

“In early June, the Boston Pride Board removed #blacklivesmatter and rewrote parts of a statement written by the communications team condemning unjust police violence against black people, and posted it,” Pride For People said in a statement. “This ‘faux pas’ was not an isolated incident of failure to adequately tackle racism, but part of a long history of poor relations with queer and Trans communities Black, Indigenous, People of Color ( QTBIPOC) from Greater Boston. “

To help meet community demands after issues emerged last year, Boston Pride officials said they hired a diversity and inclusion consultancy firm. The group also launched the “Transformation Advisory Committee,” an LGBTQ group focused on internal issues of racial injustice. However, despite these solutions, Boston Pride officials admitted “there is still work to be done.”

“We know a lot of people care about Pride in Boston, and we encourage them to keep the work going,” Boston Pride continued in a statement. “In making the decision to close, we hope that new leaders will emerge from the community to lead the Pride movement in Boston.”

The group added: “The current Pride board no longer holds the trust of the LGBTQ + community that Boston Pride is supposed to serve, and Pride for the People has called for the resignation of the current Boston board. Pride. “

Boston was the site of a 2019 male-dominated Straight Pride Parade featuring Trump flags and “Build the Wall” messages. The controversial former Breitbart journalist Milo Yiannopoulos served as Grand Marshal.

Philadelphia pride organizers face similar criticism. Last month, Philly Pride Presents (PPP) abruptly ended its organization and canceled its “Pride-lite” events in the fall for not prioritizing the voices of LGBTQ people of color, reports the Philadelphia Gay News .

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