Roiled by community backlash, the organization behind Philadelphia’s largest annual LGBTQ Pride parade and festival for the past 28 years has abruptly dissolved and canceled its forthcoming Pride festivities, the Inquirer has learned.
The organizers behind Philly Pride Presents did not respond to multiple phone calls, voice mails, e-mails, and Facebook messages — which were shown as having been read before the group took down its Facebook page late last week.
The disbanding of the decades-old LGBTQ organization and cancellation of its September “Pride Lite” festival — moved from the typical date in June, Pride month, due to coronavirus restrictions — is the latest chapter in a tumultuous saga for Philly Pride Presents.
The most recent controversy began with a Facebook post from the nonprofit group on June 10, which drew swift castigation from some members of the community for using transphobic language to describe patrons of the Stonewall Inn, whose actions during an uprising against police on June 28, 1969 are widely attributed as the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ rights movement. The post also drew scrutiny for casting police officers as victims, when LGBTQ people were subject to police abuse. Within hours, the post, and others regarding Pride month vanished from the group’s page without explanation.
On June 17, the group posted an apology to its page, saying its senior adviser in charge of making Facebook posts had resigned and that Pride organizers were “deeply sorry that these posts unintentionally offended and hurt the LGBTQ+ black, brown and trans community.” Then again, within hours — after mounting online criticism, an earlier column from Philadelphia Magazine, and questions from a reporter — the group’s Facebook page disappeared altogether, and large portions of its website were removed from public view. By Monday, Philly Pride Presents’ phone line was disconnected.
A city spokesperson said Philly Pride Presents “does not have a formal relationship with the City of Philadelphia” nor did the non-profit 501(c)3 organization receive any funding from the city.
But, Celena Morrison, executive director of Philadelphia’s Office of LGBT Affairs, said that the office “has heard and shared the community’s concerns regarding Philly Pride Presents’ social media presence.”
“While this recent development is still unfolding, we understand the community’s need for a new vision of what LGBTQ+ Pride looks like here in Philadelphia,” Morrison said. “The Office of LGBT Affairs has been in conversation with community leaders and activists as they prepare to reimagine Pride, and we look forward to supporting the many celebrations, rallies, protests, and programming already happening across the city, as the future of Pride in Philadelphia emerges — one that is reflective of the many diverse experiences of our city’s LGBTQ+ communities.”
The group disbanding, is “definitely a win, for the community collectively,” said Abdul-Aliy Muhammad, a West Philadelphia-based writer, organizer, and cofounder of the Black and Brown Workers Cooperative, who for years has fought against racism in Philadelphia’s Gayborhood and worked to hold the Office of LGBT Affairs accountable to the concerns of many Black and brown members of the community.
Black and brown LGBTQ organizers are in the process of planning an event in the place of the September pride, with details to come, they said.
“It allows for something new to be born,” Muhammad said. “It allows for something resonant with Black and brown queer and trans people in the city, for all LGBTQ folks in the city, to have a space that’s truly held by the people in our community.”