Pride For The People’s Statement Comes As Response to Boston Pride’s Decision to Dissolve the LGBTQIA+ Organization
Trans Resistance,
Urban Pride, the
Boston Black Pride, and
Boston Dyke March, have spent the past year pushing for a long-overdue transformation of Boston Pride. While we’ve been excited and encouraged by the wider community support for the boycott, our ultimate goal was to see the organization transition to new leadership that represents the diverse voices and needs of our community. Our demands were for transparency, community participation, and democratic decision-making. We see today’s statement by the Board as their final rejection of those demands.
Boston Pride announces closing amid controversy over inclusion A Pride flag is unfurled over construction scaffolding on a Tremont Street building in the South End. Pat Greenhouse / The Boston Globe, File By Jeremy C. Fox, The Boston Globe July 9, 2021 | 7:28 PM
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Boston Pride, the organization that for decades has organized the city’s annual LGBTQ parade, is dissolving amid a controversy over inclusion, the group’s board of directors said.
The announcement, posted to the organization’s website Friday afternoon, came one month after Pride board president Linda DeMarco said she would resign this summer in response to complaints that the organization excluded people of color and trans people, which led some to boycott the group.
Amid a boycott over racial equity issues, the Boston Pride organization announced in a statement July 9 that it is dissolving. It is clear to us that our community needs and wants change without the involvement of Boston Pride, the statement on its website reads. We have heard the concerns of the QTBIPOC community and others. We care too much to stand in the way. Therefore, Boston Pride is dissolving. There will be no further events or programming planned, and the board is taking steps to close down the organization.
Boston Pride, which held virtual events in June to celebrate LGBTQ Pride Month, has been criticized for being whitewashed and trans-exclusionary, according to a recent article in the Boston Globe.
Boston Pride, the decades-old LGBTQ+ group that organizes the city s Pride Parade, will disband.
The nonprofit s Board of Directors announced the decision in a statement posted online Friday afternoon. Over the past year, we have invested time and energy to address the concerns of the community, Boston Pride s board of directors wrote in a statement on the website. It is clear to us that our community needs and wants change without the involvement of Boston Pride.
The announcement comes after years of growing tension with other Boston-based LGBTQ+ community leaders and organizations. In 2015, Black Lives Matter protestors interrupted the Boston Pride parade to demand more inclusivity and representation in the Pride organization. And last year, 80% of Boston Pride s volunteer workforce resigned after a statement put out by Boston Pride s board received backlash. The board came under fire for removing key parts of the statement, which was originally written by the volunteer work
After Months of Pressure, Boston Pride Disbands Organization Instead of Adding QTBIPOC and Allies’ Voices to the Board; [Story Still Unfolding]
BOSTON In a press release received late this evening, Boston Pride informed media outlets about their decision to dissolve the organization, according to the statement sent by its current Board of Directors.
“It is clear to us that our community needs and wants change without the involvement of Boston Pride,” read the release whose letterhead showed the names of its Board one last time, President Linda DeMarco, Treasurer Malcolm Carey, Clerk Martha Plaza, and members Deborah Drew and Tina Rosado. “We have heard the concerns of the QTBIPOC community and others. We care too much to stand in the way. Therefore, Boston Pride is dissolving. There will be no further events or programming planned, and the board is taking steps to close down the organization.”