Organizers of New York City's Pride march have announced that police officers will be banned from marching in the event for four years.
The decision was made public in a statement shared by NYC Pride officials on Twitter, on Saturday, May 15.
A spokesperson for the event said that all members of law enforcement will be barred from participating and that on-duty officers must stay at least a block away from the parade route.
A representative from Pride New York's Community Relations and Diversity, Accessibility, and Inclusion committee confirmed that the ban would be upheld until 2025.
The Pride organizers will be providing community-based security and first responders in lieu of police officers.
"The sense of safety that law enforcement is meant to provide can instead be threatening, and at times dangerous, to those in our community who are most often targeted with excessive force and/or without reason.
"NYC Pride is unwilling to contribute in any way to creating an atmosphere of fear or harm for members of the community."
However, this decision has proven to be controversial, both among members of law enforcement, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Credit: Alamy/Richard Green
Responding to the issue in an official statement, President of the Gay Officers Action League Brian Downey wrote: "Heritage of Pride is well aware that the city would not allow a large-scale event to occur without police presence.
"So their response to activist pressure is to take the low road by preventing their fellow community members from celebrating their identities and honoring the shared legacy of the Stonewall Riots."
Downey continued: "It is demoralizing that Heritage of Pride didn’t have the courage to refer to GOAL by name in its announcement, referring to us only as 'Law Enforcement Exhibitors'. The label is not only offensive but dehumanizing for our members."
The parade is currently set to take place in June after the Covid-19 pandemic forced many Pride events around the world to be canceled in the course of 2020.
Last year, New York City's Pride march was replaced by a virtual event in front of masked participants, honoring front-line workers and medical staff.
At the beginning of this year, June meant one thing for LGBT+ people in the US and UK: Pride 2020.
Millions of LGBT+ individuals and allies would have been gearing up for a month of recognition, remembrance, and festivities to celebrate and acknowledge the developments in the Western world since the Stonewall Riots of 1969.
This time last year, World Pride took place in New York City and marked 50 years since a group of trans women and gay men (largely led by a Black trans activist called Marsha P. Johnson) fought back against years of persecution at the hands of police outside the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village in Manhattan.
The 2019 march and celebrations drew a reported 5 million people to the city of New York.
As recent as the 1960s, homosexuality was still illegal in the US, and LGBT+ people faced routine and consistent violence and raids in bars.
The six days of riots in the Summer of 1969 against police brutality sparked a movement in New York that saw two LGBT+ rights organizations - the Gay Liberation Front and Gay Activists Alliance - set up within a few months.
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Both organizations were supported by white gay men using their privilege to fight for their rights and the rights of other more marginalized and often more brutally persecuted) members of the LGBT+ community (such as trans people, black people, and Latinx people). They called for the community to unite in the fight against LGBT+ persecution.
They also supported many other groups fighting marginalization and persecution, such as the Black Panthers, and they marched against the Women's House of Detention.
Within two years, there were pride marches all over the world, and these riots and protests are largely viewed as the catalyst that gave LGBT+ people the rights we have today.
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This year, LGBT+ people around the world are rethinking how to celebrate Pride.
Due to the COVID-19 crisis, Pride 2020 was always going to be different. But with the current protests against racism in both US and UK continuing to build in strength, Pride this year is a chance for LGBT+ people and allies to reflect and help fight racist and unjust treatment many members of the LGBT+ community still face.
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Take the current lived experience of trans people - particularly black trans people - in the US and the UK in 2020.
Aside from certain extremely high profile members of society questioning their existence and experiences, below are some other statistics related to trans people - it is tough to compare what these statistics would be for cisgender white people:
It is reported that the average life expectancy of a Black trans woman is 35. This is a disputed statistic (primarily because not enough data has been collected), but as a widely discussed stat it is hard to ignore (source 1,source 2).
Nearly HALF (48%) of trans people in Britain have attempted suicide (source).
In the US last year, there were 26 reports of trans people killed by violent means, of these, 91% of them were black trans women and 81% of those women were under 30 (source).
In the UK, 70% of trans people avoid certain places and situations for fear of being assaulted, threatened, or harassed (source).
It is also worth drawing attention to some of the black people whose lives have been drawn short already this year. Some of these men and women have been killed since the BLM protests erupted at the end of May.
These are just a few of the people that the news and social media are reporting:
This year, Pride in the UK is probably the most similar it's ever been to the nation's very first Pride march back in 1970, which was organized as a response to the Stonewall riots of the previous year.
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Like then, the civil unrest that demanded change began in the US and the rest of the world stood in solidarity and eventually enacted that change.
Queer culture and Pride nowadays is full of vibrancy and joy and color, but one should be reminded that a large part of that culture and language has been appropriated from black LGBT+ people and QTIPOC (Drag Race, "Yas Kween", slay, vogueing, shade, sassy, bae etc).
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Is it right that people enjoy this culture whilst those people from whom it originated aren't given the same opportunities and protection as those who enjoy it?
It is likely that in the past few weeks you will have seen ways in which you can help the Black Lives Matter movement, however many of those resources totally ignore the struggles faced by many black trans lives that are still heavily persecuted both in the US and UK.
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Their names are not shouted as loud at protests and you do not see as many petitions calling for justice or fundraisers for their legal battles.
Below are some links to some documentaries, articles, and fundraising websites to educate and support those people whose lived experience is not only of being black and not only being queer but also being trans and female.
Their identities exist at the intersectionality of the most persecuted groups in many societies around the globe.
As LGBT+ people and allies, we must be supporting and using our privilege and space to educate ourselves and bolster, protect, and celebrate the Black trans community.
Pride started as a riot because people were angry.
Pride brought about change that means many queer people can live their lives in the way they want to.
We need to be supporting those who are angry and protesting the constant and systemic oppression now -so that they can also live their lives the way they deserve to.
Please find additional information and material below:
The US Pentagon will be keeping in place a Trump-era ban on Pride flags being flown on military bases.
During the Trump administration, a policy was implemented to limit the type of flags displayed at military facilities. The Pride flag along with the Confederate flag and some others were banned in military bases in July 2020.
But in light of June being Pride month, an exception will not be made, the Pentagon has stated.
Pentagon Press secretary John Kirby confirmed the decision to reporters on Friday, per The Hill:
"After some careful consideration, the department will maintain the existing policy from July 2020 regarding the display or depiction of unofficial flags so there won’t be an exception made this month for the Pride flag.
"This in no way reflects any lack of respect or admiration for people that [are from] the LGBTQ+ community, the personnel in and out of uniform who serve in this department. We are proud of them."
According to the publication, in July 2020, former Defense Secretary Mark Esper put in place a comprehensive flag policy, with the intention of banning the Confederate flag without specifically naming it. Esper had branded such flags "divisive" in department memos.
However, while the rule ousted hate symbols from military bases, it also banned flags of sports teams and the Pride flag.
A review was conducted into the issue and Pentagon officials decided to maintain the policy as eradicating it might lead to "other challenges," Kirby added.
Credit: Sipa US / Alamy
The State Department will not be following suit, and, indeed, Secretary of State Antony Blinken authorized the display of Pride flags at diplomatic embassies in April.
A number of people have since taken to Twitter to slam the Pentagon's decision to retain the policy, with one person referring to it as "disgusting".
Another added: "So the leaders of our supposed almighty military are afraid of gay people? Gee that makes me feel safe."
Another argued: "Fly them at ALL American military bases if you care about these human rights at all."
As per Pentagon policy, the flags which are allowed to be flown at military bases include POW/MIA flags, US state flags, flags of military units, and those that belong to allied nations.
An NYPD officer was suspended yesterday, (October 25) after footage emerged of him defiantly repeating, "Trump 2020" on his patrol car's loudspeaker while on duty in Brooklyn.
As reported by BuzzFeed News, the officer in question was not identified by the NYPD, but the department did reveal that he had been suspended without pay.
This was the moment President Donald Trump said there was something "very beautiful" about watching protesters being "pushed around":
"The police officer who is under investigation for using a department vehicle’s loudspeaker for political purposes has been suspended, effective immediately," the NYPD tweeted yesterday afternoon.
"When you wear our uniform it is imperative to remain apolitical," NYPD Chief Terence Monahan tweeted. "Behavior like this will not be tolerated and will be dealt with."
The department began an investigation into the incident yesterday after two videos emerged online the previous day, showing the officer repeating the mantra.
In one of the videos, shared by Twitter user Brandon Hines, the cop is heard saying:
"Trump 2020. Put it on YouTube, put it on Facebook. Trump 2020. Take a picture, take a picture, take a video. Put it on your Facebook, put it in your YouTube. Have some fun."
According to the NYPD's official policy, officers are prohibited from "endorsing political candidates or publicly expressing personal views and opinions concerning the merits of any political party or candidate for public office" while on duty or in uniform.
Journalist Talia Jane shared another video that was filmed by an unidentified man:
The man, according to Jane, had shown the patrol car his middle finger as it was blocking a crosswalk. This was when an officer in the passenger seat yelled expletives at the man.
Following an argument, the officer allegedly showed the man his middle finger. It was then that an officer on the driver's side yelled "Trump 2020" and threatened to arrest the man for blocking traffic.
The man briefly left the site, but when he came back, the officer used the patrol car's speaker to say "Trump 2020", following an antagonistic interaction between the pair.
"Do it again," the man can be heard telling the officer.
"What... you can't say 'Trump 2020' now you f**king p***y? Say it again," the man tells the officer.
"Trump 2020," the officer says again.
"Go f**k yourself, you f**king fascist," the man tells the officer.
Pride Month is a celebration of the LGBTQ community to promote self-affirmation, acceptance and equal rights. The month of June was chosen to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall riots, when abusive police officers raided New York City's notorious gay bar The Stonewall Inn, and the outraged customers fought back. 50 years later, great strides have been made for LGBTQ rights, but members of the communitystill face unfortunate discrimination.
As revelers across America plan raucous gay pride parades, three men in Boston are making plans for a controversial counter-event: a straight pride parade. The Washington Post reports that organizer Mark Sahady filed a discrimination complaint against Boston for permission to fly a straight pride flag. On Facebook, he claimed the city is working with him to throw the Straight Pride Parade on August 31st.
According to Sahady, the Straight Pride Parade will include floats and vehicles and follow the same route as the Gay Pride Parade.
"For [the political left] everything is based upon identity and whether or not one is categorized as a victim or an oppressor,” Sahady explained in a Facebook comment. "If you get victim status then you are entitled to celebrate yourself and expect those with oppressor status to defer to your feelings."
Reports of the proposed Straight Pride Parade sparked immediate criticism on Twitter. "Gay Pride was not born of a need to celebrate being gay, but our right to exist without persecution," tweeted @OOOlson. So instead of wondering why there isn't a Straight Pride parade, be thankful you don't need one."
@JohnJSalomone agreed, writing: "Straight pride is every f***ing day. Every time you hold your partner's hand in public and don't get put in the hospital for it. Every time you express your gender/sexuality the most natural way to you and the entire world caters to it. LGBTQ+ people are murdered for EXISTING."
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh (D) declined to address the proposed Straight Pride Parade, but issued a statement supporting Gay Pride.
"Every year Boston hosts our annual Pride Week, where our city comes together to celebrate the diversity, strength and acceptance of our LGBTQ community," Walsh said in a statement, per The Post. "This is a special week that represents Boston’s values of love and inclusion, which are unwavering."
As residents of Staten Island marched in the New York City borough's annual St. Patrick's parade on Saturday, Miss Staten Island was confined to the sidelines, according to CBS New York.
Madison L'Insalata claims that just hours after she came out as bisexual, organizers banned her from participating. This thwarted her plan to march in support of the LGBTQ+ community - and wear a rainbow-colored scarf while waving from the back of a vehicle along the parade route - after the Pride Center of Staten Island had once again been prohibited from taking part.
After her announcement made headlines, parade head, Larry Cummings, allegedly placed a call to the pageant director, Jim Smith, to inform him that all pageant winners were banned from the parade for "safety" reasons.
Smith called L'Insalata to break the news, detailing that Cummings had told him that L'Insalata and another pageant queen who supported her were prohibited from participating. "I was stunned by the whole thing. I wasn't prepared. He just said we're worried about her safety, like he's doing us a favor," he told the publication.
"It's really hurtful. Nobody likes to feel rejected from their community," 23-year-old L'Insalata told CBS New York. "I am proud of Staten Island and I am proud of the title that I have because I know that myself and all the other girls involved do a lot of really great things for our community. So it's a shame that this really great community event, we ended up not being allowed to be a part of."
Dwayne Wade speaks about supporting his son at the Miami Pride Parade:
L'Insalata did show up at the parade regardless, wearing a rainbow scarf and heart sticker, but was only able to watch. "It was hurtful [to see]," her mother said.
"I knew that people would talk about it, and that's all I wanted. Because the more people that know about it, the more likely it is to change," Miss Staten Island continued, adding that many community leaders and spectators applauded her decision to attend.
Cummings has been widely criticized for continuing to prevent the Pride Center of Staten Island from participating in the parade. Director of the organization, Carol Bullock, told CBS New York that in the past Cummings has said that letting such groups march "promotes the homosexual lifestyle" and "goes against the tenents of the Catholic Church".
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