RALEIGH, N.C. — A group of LGBTQ advocacy groups and faith leaders are calling on the community to continue a boycott on NC Pride, criticizing their response to scheduling the festival and parade conflicting with Yom Kippur.
While NC Pride apologized and cancelled its parade, which had been scheduled for Sept. 30. The festival was also rescheduled to begin at 4 p.m. on Sept. 30 and conclude at 4 a.m. on Oct. 1, rebranding it “N.C. Pride @ Night.”
“We think this is the best under the circumstances,” said N.C. Pride Executive Director John Short at the time of the announcement.
The group, calling itself Liberate NC Pride, is still not pleased with the arrangement, arguing in a petition posted online that the event should have been rescheduled to a different date. It notes that younger people and caregivers might not be able to attend these later events.
Further, the petition states that the failure to reschedule the event is but one concern for the undersigned.
“Devastatingly, these exclusionary practices are not unique to this year’s NC Pride committee,” it states. “NC Pride has a history of demonstrating a lack of transparency & accountability and an underrepresentation of historically marginalized communities. This includes but is not limited to trans individuals; LGBTQIA2S individuals, particularly those of color; Black, Latinx, Indigenous, low income, Muslim, Jewish, immigrant, disabled, neuroatypical, and undocumented individuals, from rural communities, and those of us living at the intersections of those identities.”
“We’ll get through this year, and have proven we’re inclusive in our hearts,” Short said in response to the petition. “We’ve changed our dates and timing, and there’s not much more to say about it.”
Parker T. Hurley, a co-founder of NC Trans Pride in Action, said in a coalition statement that the time has come to “reclaim Pride in the spirit of Stonewall Rebellion; to honor the histories, experiences and center the leadership of transgender women, transgender and gender non-conforming people of color, disabled folks, immigrants, rural communities, non-Christian communities and those of us living at the intersections of those struggles and identities. It’s our time to begin the work of accountability, healing and building a pride for all.”
The petition is signed by the following groups and individuals: The LGBTQ Center of Durham, Carolina Jews for Justice, The Jewish Federation of Durham, Jewish Voice for Peace, Duke University Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity, Black Youth Project 100, iNSIDEoUT180, El Centro Hispano, Equality NC, Southerners on New Ground (SONG), Charlotte Uprising, SisterSong, NC Trans Pride, Trans & Queer People of Color Collective of Charlotte, Tranzmission, Trans Liberation Foundation, Freedom Center for Social Justice, NC State GLBT Center, Queer Youth Circus, QORDS, Safe Schools NC, United Church of Chapel Hill Open and Affirming Coalition, Ignite NC, Triangle, SURJ, Common Woman Chorus, Greensboro Jewish Federation, Rabbi Larry Bach, Laila Nur and Vernetta Alston.