Or even if that means having a Black friend attack other Black people for sensibly asserting their desire for Black only spaces. This is not about the likelihood of your friend shouting an epithet, it is about the likelihood that their comfort means the disregard of ours.Įvery white person can become an excuse for the state to “defend” itself and whiteness against a person of color, even if that means punishing you for simply defending yourself. Every white person has the state and its guns at their behest and a gentrifying tongue in their mouth, whether they intend it or not. The state does not ask for intentions when it designates Black people a threat.
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If Black Pride is supposed to serve Black queer and trans folks and protect them from the whiteness that has overrun and excluded us from mainstream gay consciousness, it can only fully do so without white people taking up space.Īnti-Blackness is inherent to whiteness, and thus anti-Blackness moves in all space where white people are.
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But there is a general understanding of whom these events serve and why they are necessary in the first place. And they would know that the needs of the Black community, including the need for exclusive camaraderie–even if that isn’t your need specifically–are important enough to respect, because Black people are important enough to respect.īlack Pride events are public, and there is obviously no explicit ban of non-Black people. They would know that they don’t need to be any and everywhere a Black person is in order to be a part of that Black person’s life. But if your white friend or partner was truly special, they would know that there are some places they should not try and force themselves into. But repeatedly that refuge was shattered by other Black queer folks who unilaterally determined it was best to bring their white friends and partners along, upending any shared and special moments of community the rest of us might have had and sorely needed.īlack people who bring their white friends and partners to Black Pride events will argue that their friend is special, and will not contribute to any anti-Black experiences or otherwise cause a disturbance of safe spaces. for its massive Black Pride weekend, and it was a much needed refuge considering the many queer spaces of color that have been shut down or gentrified over the last few years in New York. This is why Black queer communities, in particular, have created their own Pride celebrations. Just like Stonewall, whose heroes have been ahistorically reimagined to fit an unrepresentative image, Pride is often an affluent white, cisgender male fantasy of what a celebration of queer life looks like. Pride has been routinely called out for the often explicit exclusion of the rest of the umbrella (which is evident even in the term “Gay Pride” itself), its investment in hyper-capitalistic practices, and its commitment to centering whiteness. For many LGBTQQIA+ people, this is a time to reaffirm their right to life and liberty against the backdrop of anti-queer stigma and violence they experience at the hands, knife- and gun-points of society-at-large.įor some in this community, however, these celebrations aren’t an escape from the harm they face, but the reinforcing of it. The uprisings, led mostly by trans people of color and drag queens, are commemorated each year with celebrations across the globe during what is known as Pride Month.
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#BIG BOY GAY PRIDE ORLANDO SERIES#
This June marks the 48th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, a series of violent acts of resistance in New York City credited with sparking the modern Gay Rights Movement.