Tag Archives: Heritage of Pride

NYPD Adds Extra Security To NYC PRIDE March Despite Not Being Allowed To March.

WARNING: Despite Heightened Threats NYC PRIDE Still Bans NYPD From Marching in Uniform.

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In 2020, Heritage of Pride announced that it would no longer allow uniformed police officers to participate in the annual Pride parade until at least 2025. This decision came after discussions by community activists and groups who believed that the presence of uniformed police officers could create an environment that is unwelcoming and unsafe for some “marginalized communities”.

Now in what is turning out to be one of the most dangerous years for LGBT Americans with threats and violence on the rise Heritage of Pride – NYC Pride is still not allowing uniformed policemen to participate in PRIDE.

Via The NYC Pride website: “NYC Pride acknowledges and accounts for public safety measures that have inflicted harm to transgender, womxn, black, indigenous and peoples of color that have engaged in NYC Pride events. Beginning in 2021, NYC Pride publicly banned corrections and law enforcement exhibitors from marching in their uniforms and participating in recruitment activities at NYC Pride events until at least 2025. This action was a step in the path of transformative justice affirming our commitment to eliminating violence, harm and abuse at NYC Pride events. Continuing on this path requires transparency for how community members can be safe as we care for ourselves, our communities and our environment. NYC Pride is committed to safe events that encompass the intersectionalities of safety, wellness, accessibility and sustainability.”

NYC Pride media director Dan Dimant says “We have private security that we’ve hired. They play a role,” Dimant says. “We also are working with numerous government agencies, and those agencies exist at every level of government across city, state, and federal. It’s NYPD in some ways, but it’s also DOT, sanitation, fire, and EMS.”

An estimated crowd of over 2 mullion visitors are expected to attend this year’s NYC events.

Organizers say that it’s natural for participants to have a heightened sense of awareness amid the current political climate – but they say going back into hiding is exactly what hateful threats are aiming to do. Still, they say people should do what makes them feel the safest.

Please if you attend NYC PRIDE this year follow these simple rules to help remain safe.

  • If at all possible, don’t attend Pride events alone. Designate a Pride buddy and safety plan with them. 
  • Let someone who won’t be with you know your plans for the day/night. Let that person know who you’ll be with and if plans change. Brainstorm in advance ways people can contact and support you. 
  • Charge your electronics and bring chargers and/or extra battery packs. 
  • Write down phone numbers of friends or family on a piece of paper in case your cell phone dies. 
  • Be aware of your surroundings: Locate public spaces and 24-hour businesses to seek help if you feel unsafe. 
  • Always trust your instincts. If you feel threatened or unsafe, remove yourself from the situation as quickly as possible. 

Barney Frank Rips HOP - NYC Pride to Shreds for Banning LGBT Police Officers From Marching

Barney Frank Speaks Out Against HOP – NYC Pride for Banning LGBT Police Officers From Marching

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Former Rep. Barney Frank who was considered the most prominent gay politician in the United States during his time in Congress. came out swinging today against Heritage of Pride the group that runs NYC Pride for banning LGBT police officers from marching this year.

Via Frank’s Op-ed in The Hill:

Having gotten used to Pride parades being occasions when the broad community can come together in an atmosphere of complete mutual respect, I was very disappointed at the injection of bigotry that has marred this season. I am referring to the decision of the organizers of the New York march to demonize some of the most courageous and effective opponents of homophobia in our community — the LGBT police officers who have combated prejudice in places where it was deep-rooted.

I am somewhat comforted by knowing that those who have made this decision speak for a small minority of the LGBT community. But that very fact underlines the danger of letting our agenda be dictated by deferring to the small minorities within our ranks who compete with each other in a purer-than-thou contest.

Those most committed to reforming police practices damage this important cause when they refuse to distinguish between police officers who victimize others and those who have stood proudly against bigotry. Collective punishment that puts heroes and villains in the same category is flat out wrong on three fundamental counts.

It is a blatant violation of the principle of fairness at the center of our struggle; it is a distorted picture of the reality which we have worked to present; and it is counterproductive to inform people in positions of some authority that they are guilty by definition — no matter how hard they fight on our side.

It must be mentioned that the general membership of HOP voted overwhelmingly to ALLOW LGBT NYC Police- GOAL NYC to march; the board of Heritage of Pride that took it upon themselves to override the decision and ultimately banned the police.

WORLD PRIDE NYC STONEWALL 50/Heritage of Pride Announces Grand Marshals, Snubs Surviving Riot Participants

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This week, Heritage of Pride, the group that produces New York City’s annual Pride Parade and this year’s World Pride NYC Stonewall 50th Anniversary, announced its Grand Marshals.

Missing, though, are any of the surviving participants, known as the Stonewall Veterans, those who were there at the Stonewall Inn and stood up for our rights and rioted on that fateful night in June of 1969.

The Grand Marshals for this year’s historic Pride parade include the cast of Pose, as well as Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, co-founder of UK Black Pride, and Monica Helms, creator of the transgender pride flag.  The Trevor Project and the Gay Liberation Front, billed by NYC Pride as the first post-Stonewall LGBTQ+ activist organization, will also lead as grand marshals.

“We’re really thrilled with the group of grand marshals we have this year,” said James Fallarino, a spokesperson for HOP, which has produced New York City’s Pride events since 1984. “The goal is for them to reflect what World Pride 2019 and Stonewall 50 are all about.”

Obviously, it seems that to HOP, Stonewall 50 means not including or honoring any of the last few surviving participants who actually took part in the riot at the Stonewall Inn, or those who participated in the days and nights of rioting that followed. Also missing, except for the very general inclusion of the Gay Liberation Front–many of whom will not be participating this year because of HOP’s corporate ties–are any lesbian and gay Pride Marshals.

I ask you: how much more disrespectful and insensitive could Heritage of Pride be to our history and to the memory of those who fought for us not only in the riots but also over the past 50 years?

This is just one more reason on an ever-growing list why I do not support and will not attend Pride celebrations in NYC this year.

If Heritage Of Pride believes that the cast members of Pose are more worthy to be PRIDE Marshals than the people who actually fought for our liberation on June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, then our cause is all but lost.

Stonewall 50 To Snub Greenwich Village: Main Music Event Will Take Place At Javitz Center

Stonewall 50 To Snub Greenwich Village: Main Music Event Will Take Place At Javitz Center

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For decades the main event of New York City Pride has been its annual dance and music concert usually held in the West Village. But this year Stonewall 50 (aka Heritage of Pride) will be using New York City’s leading gay party producer, Jake Resnicow, to host the annual Pride music festival at the very un-gay Jacob Javitz Convention Center.

Via Press Release:

Located in the heart of Manhattan, the Jacob Javitz Center is a mammoth 1,800,000 square feet, covering the entire city block between 33rd and 34th Streets, 11th and 12th Avenues. It offers, by far, the largest capacity of all Pride venues. Tickets available now at PrideFestival 2019.com. “The 50th anniversary of Stonewall will bring millions of people from all over the world to New York this Pride,” explains Jake Resnicow, recently named “Most Influential Person of the Year” by Out Magazine.

PRIDE FESTIVAL 2019 | Saturday Main Event Teaser | WE Party from PRIDE FESTIVAL 2019 on Vimeo.

Long Island Man Arrested For Threatening To Bomb NYC PRIDE

NYC PRIDE Denies Demand That LGBT Police Not March In Uniform During This Years Parade

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Heritage of Pride which runs NYC’s grand LGBT Pride Parade and events during gay pride weekend has denied demands made by the group “Reclaim Pride Coalition” that New York City’s LGBT police officers not be allowed to march in uniform.  And also the banning of police vehicles and the removal of the police marching band out of this years pride parade.

the parade because it might upset a section of the community.

About 10 members of the Coalition attended the May 14th meeting and argued that the demands they sought were  an act of solidarity with those communities, notably communities of color, that feel the brunt of policing in New York City and around the country.

“When you don’t stand up against the crimes the cops commit, you’re being complicit,” said Jay W. Walker, a  NYC activist and member Gays Against Guns (GAG), which did not endorse the demands of the group.

“We get requests ever year from people who want us to control or restrict who can march,” said James Fallarino, who heads media for HOP during the May 14th meeting at The Center. 

Fallarino then made a motion for the HOP board to vote again on  HOP’s longstanding policy that any group can and that HOP does not tell marchers how to present themselves beyond applying the same rules to all other marchers. Fallarino’s motion reiterated that HOP does not restrict “the types of groups that may register” and that “No restrictions are placed on how marchers may legally express themselves.”

The motion was approved  37 to 1 vote.

The Gay Officers Action League released the following statement:

“GOAL is happy to learn that Heritage of Pride has reaffirmed its long-standing commitment to allow marchers full freedom of expression,” the police fraternal organization said in a statement. “We have always marched as activists fighting for equality for LGBTQ people in the criminal justice profession, and for the larger LGBTQ community. Thanks to this decision, GOAL will be marching out and proud to celebrate our community’s history and heritage again this year.”

You can read the Reclaim Pride’s full list of demands by CLICKING HERE

 

*Many thanks to Duncan Osborne and Gay City News.