Tampa’s rescheduled Tampa Pride celebration was supposed to happen in Ybor City on May 30. Carrie West, President of Tampa Pride, expressed his sadness and a commitment to finding alternative events for Pride parade goers.
In a better world, we’d be reeling from Tampa Pride festivities right about now and looking forward to St. Pete Pride—a celebration that was eying a postponed date in late-September before organizers finally put the kibosh on all in-person events in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic. As the sharp rise in COVID-19 cases has illustrated, organizers on both sides of the Bay made the right call. And while the absence of official, real-life, Pride activities is a sad development, there’s something more serious happening in our streets right now.
Chrys Bundy, President of St. Pete Pride, knows this, and he’s the first to admit that, “2020 is certainly shaping up to be a year for the history books.”
As Bundy approaches what would’ve been The ‘Burg’s original Pride weekend, he’s emotional about missing the friendship and celebration. St. Pete Pride’s packed agenda is just lines on paper for now.
“Even if we weren’t in the middle of a global pandemic and lacking any national leadership, we have been awoken as a populace to the glaring injustices that our black brothers and sisters are facing on a daily basis,” Bundy told CL. He applauds the recent Supreme Court victories for LGBT protections and the nearly 800,000 “Dreamers” worried about deportation.
“Those wins are amazing, yes,” Bundy added. “However, I personally find it hard to celebrate those when our Black brothers and sisters suffer systemic racism, police brutality and harassment day after day.”
“IT. MUST. STOP.,” he said before issuing this challenge.
“If you were originally planning on coming to St. Pete Pride this weekend, please instead find books by Black authors and read them. Eat at Black-owned restaurants, patronize Black-owned businesses, and, even better, donate to organizations like Color of Change or the Equal Justice Initiative,” Bundy said. “Our country will not change overnight. But a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. Let’s walk together.”
Like local parades, CL’s Pride Issue was scrapped more than once, but the paper on stands Thursday still attempts to put a dent in that thousand-mile walk Bundy mentioned. In it are stories of LGBTQ+ community’s visual artists (hello, Ekeko gallery) and its undersung poets (meet Ronnie Wyche). It’s a celebration of not keeping your mouth shut (and getting fired for it, like Chriss Holiday, who’s found a new home in the Westshore district), and it’s an uncomfortable visit with the realities of police brutality. And like CL’s done since protests over George Floyd’s death started, the issue visits with organizers and spreads their pictures on our pages.
It’s the best CL can do right now, and it’s a drop in the bucket compared to the work of the activists beating the streets to make a better world for the next generation.
As Bundy pointed out, it doesn’t feel right to celebrate anything right now. Not with so much work still left to do. And as Bundy said, injustices against Black Americans must stop.
We’re proud to be in a community that’s not quitting on that journey any time soon.
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