The seeds of Boston Pride’s self-destruction were sown in June 2015-ironically, just weeks before the US Supreme Court released its decision in the case of Obergefell v. And to tell it coherently, I’ll have to start with events that took place more than six years ago. By making the decision to close down, we hope new leaders will emerge from the community to lead the Pride movement in Boston.Īnd what are the QTBIPOC community’s “concerns.” Well, it’s a long, surreal, and tragicomic story. We know many people care about Pride in Boston, and we encourage them to continue the work. There will be no further events or programming planned, and the board is taking steps to close down the organization. We have heard the concerns of the QTBIPOC community and others. The organization was dissolved from within in July, when its board of directors released a statement that read, in part: It is clear to us that our community needs and wants change without the involvement of Boston Pride. I mean this literally: Boston Pride no longer exists. Rather, Boston Pride celebrated a half-century-plus of existence by collapsing into social panic and cancelling itself. This year’s events also didn’t materialize, but not entirely because of COVID-19. Last year would have marked the 50th parade, but the event was cancelled due to the pandemic. Read more about the information war we find ourselves in and how people-powered, independent reporting can and must rise to the challenge-and please support our team's truth-telling journalism with a donation if you can right now.Boston Pride is one of the oldest gay-rights organizations in the United States, with its first parade having taken place in 1971. Donate THE TRUTH.Īnd right now, we need to raise about $400,000 from our online readers over the next two months to hit our annual goal and make good on that mission. Read more about the information war we find ourselves in and how people-powered, independent reporting can and must rise to the challenge-and please support our team's truth-telling journalism with a donation if you can right now.
Which is also a pretty great way to describe Mother Jones' mission: People coming together around the truth to hold power accountable.Īnd right now, we need to raise about $400,000 from our online readers over the next two months to hit our annual goal and make good on that mission. And as we're seeing in the US and the world around, authoritarians seek to poison the discourse and the way we relate to each other because they can't stand people coming together around a shared sense of the truth-it's a huge threat to them.
An unwavering commitment to it is probably what draws you to Mother Jones' journalism. If the Straight Pride Parade organizers’ plan doesn’t work out, the streets of their city will be safe again for heterosexuals the next time a Boston team wins a championship.īy signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from Mother Jones and our partners. What would folks march in? Socks w/ sandals on? Dad jeans? Will people have to come out as straight? Will “Straight Pride” be a Freaky Friday type situation where all of our history books, movies, stories, media, news, etc feature mostly LGBTQ+ people & perspectives? On Boston's "Straight Pride Parade." /VBndnrpYlo
Wow! Cool initiative, fellas!! Just a thought, instead of ‘Straight Pride’ parade, how about this: The ‘desperately trying to bury our own gay thoughts by being homophobic because no one taught us how to access our emotions as children’ parade? Whatta ya think? Too on the nose? So it’s no surprise that the concept of a “ Super Happy Fun America Straight Pride Parade“-a celebration of “the diverse history, culture, and contributions of the straight community”-has been met with ridicule. Massachusetts was the first state to legalize gay marriage, and Boston, whose annual Pride parade draws hundreds of thousands of people, has long been a haven for the LGBTQ community.
And “mascot” Brad Pitt has not confirmed his participation yet. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh has not confirmed that the parade is actually happening.