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The internationally recognized Pride Month may be coming to an end, but more celebrations are on the way to shine a spotlight on queer people from marginalized races.
Celebrations outside of traditional Pride Month include Black Pride, which originated as Black Pride Week in Washington, DC and has seen various celebrations and integrations throughout the rest of the country.
Keep reading to find out what Black Pride is, why it’s important, and when and where you can host a Black Pride celebration.
What is black pride?
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Black Pride is a movement created in response to dominant white cultures and ideologies. It encourages black people to celebrate their own culture and heritage. That said, even Black Pride has work to do to promote inclusion within the community when it comes to people who identify on the LGBTQ+ spectrum.
“The concept of intersectionality, when it comes to being black and queer, is a totally different experience because it’s a double whammy,” says Emani “King” Mack, one of the organizers of San Diego’s Black Pride event. “The importance of Black Pride is to create a safe space where we can be ourselves and celebrate, come together, empower each other just by being together.”
This is also an opportunity to address the overall economic, social and health equality that disproportionately affects Black LGBTQ+ households. A recent report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the median income for blacks averaged $908 per week, compared to an average of $1,157 for their white counterparts and $1,505 for Asians.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) also clarified that LGBTQ+ workers overall earn just 90 cents on the dollar compared to other regular workers, and that Black and Latino transgender adults are more likely to live in poverty than transgender people of other ethnic origins. Their report found that people who identified as both LGBTQ+ and BIPOC reported lower wages and larger pay gaps compared to other workers in the United States.
Related: 10 Harmful Myths That Fuel Transgender Misinformation
The importance of highlighting these inequalities
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It’s important to highlight these types of wage gaps because it helps advance the equality we all seek. Even among women, HRC reported that Asian/Pacific Islander (API) LGBTQ+ women earned the same or about the same as a typical worker on the dollar. White LGBTQ+ women earned an average of 96 cents on that same dollar. Black LGBTQ+ women earned just 85 cents on the same dollar, dropping to 75 cents for Native American LGBTQ+ women and even lower to 72 cents for Latina LGBTQ+ women.
The purpose of Black Pride is to help raise awareness about issues related to the wage gap, but also other disparities like health care and the disproportionate rate of STIs seen among Black people. The CDC has long documented sexual health disparities, and its 2022 Post-Covid STI Overview noted that non-Hispanic Black or African Americans accounted for 31% of all cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis, even though they only represent about 13% of the total population.
Worse, Blacks/African Americans and Hispanics/Latinos also accounted for about 70% of all new HIV infections in the same year. Of the estimated 31,8,000 infections, Black/African Americans had the highest number of infections with just under 12,000, while Hispanics/Latinos accounted for 10,500 and Whites accounted for 7,6,000. Black/African Americans make up only 13% of the total U.S. population, further widening this gap.
When did the Black Gay Pride movement start?
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The first official black gay pride demonstration took place in Washington, D.C. in 1991. The Center for Black Equity states that “while the traditional gay pride movement, often perceived as predominantly white, has focused much of its energy on same-sex marriage, the Black Gay Pride movement focused on issues such as racism, homophobia, and the lack of appropriate health and mental health care in Black communities. »
Before the first official event in 1991, DC Black Pride is about the ClubHouse in Washington DC which operated as a nightclub founded by Black members of DC’s LGBTQ+ community that operated from 1975 to 1990 and became popular for its signature event “Children’s Hour.” held each year on Memorial Day. After the ClubHouse closed in 1990, Welmore Cook, Theodore Kirkland, and Ernest Hopkins came together to continue the tradition and raise awareness about the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic in their community.
What began as a one-day event that drew 800 people grew into a weekend event the following year. During the 1990s, it grew into the nonprofit Black Lesbian & Gay Pride Day, Inc. (BLGPD), which functions as the all-volunteer governing body of DC Black Pride, which is now considered the primary source of the Black Gay Pride movement. Today, the week-long DC Black Pride event draws over 500,000 people and continues to raise awareness and funds for HIV/AIDS.
“Black Pride gives us the feeling that ‘it’s okay to be who you are,’” King says. “Being black and gay is good. You are celebrated and you have people around you. There really is no education around HIV, and growing up as a black man we are told that being black is one strike, being a man is another strike, and being gay is another strike. You have to grow up and have a sense of confidence that no one else has. Black Pride is about telling yourself that you are loved, that you are valued, and that there is a safe space for you.
Where can I find a Black Pride event?
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Honestly, these days it might be easier to ask where you are. can’t find a place to celebrate Black Pride rather than finding a place where you can. Some of the most popular options in the United States are Atlanta Black Pride, New York Black Pride, New Orleans Black Pride, and Los Angeles Black Pride.
The movement has spread beyond the United States, however. You can also find Kingston and Montego Bay Black Pride in Jamaica, UK Black Pride in England, Paris Black Pride in France, and Lagos Pride in Nigeria. Check out the full list of Black Pride options here.
When is Black Pride?
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Unlike Pride Month which takes up the entire month of June, Black Pride events take place any time of year. While a number of Black Pride events have already passed, here is a list of upcoming events for the remainder of 2024, along with their theme and date:
- Harlem Pride runs throughout the month of June and this year’s theme is “15 Years of Pride.”
- Los Angeles Black Pride will take place June 28-29, with “West Coast Rumble” as the theme.
- Boston Urban Pride runs July 4-8.
- The San Diego Black Pride “Unity in Color” events will take place July 5-7.
- Charlotte Black Pride’s “POP Pride on Purpose ‘Make it Pop!'” event will take place July 14-21.
- Black Pride Richmond, Virginia wants you to “feel our pride” between July 18-21.
- Detroit’s “Hotter Than July” event will take place July 26-28.
- New York Black Pride Event to Take Place August 14-18
- Pacific Northwest Black Pride in Seattle wants you to “embrace, encourage and empower” from August 15-18.
- The Minneapolis “Back 2 Black” event will take place August 15-18.
- St. Louis’ “Black Pride, Black Joy” will also take place August 15-18.
- Columbia, South Carolina, invites you to be “authentically me” between August 18 and 25.
- Atlanta Black Pride Weekend runs from August 27 to September 2. This is also the first year that Atlanta has hosted Global Black Pride, which began in New York in 2020.
- The “Pridechilla” event in Miami will take place October 11-13.
- Nashville Black Pride takes place October 25-27.
