DENVER — For the first time ever, the Mile High City celebrated Black Pride.
Not to be confused with the annual LGBTQIA+ Pride celebrations that take place every June, Black Pride Colorado—a collaborative effort from The Center on Colfax, Youth Seen and the Juneteenth Music Festival—was a way to marry the identities of those who embrace their African American heritage and their queerness.
Before we discuss Black Pride and what it means to Black queer folks, it’s important to remember where, when, how, and why LGBTQIA+ Pride started in the first place.
The first Pride started in 1969 at the Stonewall Inn, a bar located in New York City’s Greenwich Village. But it wasn’t the colorful, cheerful, rainbow-flag-waving-celebration that many know today. It was a riot.
The Stonewall Inn was a haven for the city’s gay, lesbian, and transgender community. As such, police raids were common during this time. But when officers raided the Stonewall Inn in June 1969 over several days, the LGBTQIA+ community, led by trans women of color Marsha P. Johnson, Miss Major, and Sylvia Rivera, led the resistance against police.
“It was Black and brown trans women that finally said, ‘Uh uh, we ain’t doing this anymore,’ and fought the police,” explained Dr. Tara Jae, executive director of Youth Seen and co-founder of Black Pride Colorado. “It was very much about resistance.”
The act of resistance at Stonewall is recognized as a turning point in the fight for LGBTQIA+ equality. The bar itself is now a National Historic Landmark.
Part of the reason for organizing Black Pride Colorado, according to the program’s website, was to serve as “a reminder that pride started as & continues to be an act of resistance.”
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Even though the fight for LGBTQIA+ rights has made great progress since the Stonewall Riot, Black queer folks told Rocky Mountain PBS that there is still a long way to go. On a daily basis, they explained, Black queer people are not only navigating racism in the hetero-normative world, but in the LGBTQIA+ community as well. For this reason, many Black queer individuals refer to themselves as a “double minority.”
John Roberts, who is Black and queer, told Rocky Mountain PBS that mainstream Pride has not always been welcoming to people of color.
“It’s tough to be considered equal when you are of color and on the LGBTQ spectrum,” Roberts said. “In my experience, people think we are weird or from a different world. We’re a little different but we are all capable of the same things.”
Dr. Jae is a Black queer individual who identifies as nonbinary.
“Being a Black, queer, nonbinary person has its everyday micro-aggressions, macro-aggressions, not only with my blackness and my queerness, but also being non-binary,” Dr. Jae said. “We’re just people. We are just like anyone else, trying to live our best lives. It shouldn’t matter who we love, who we go home to, and who we take care of. None of that should matter because it’s just about being who we are.”
Many nonbinary people feel that stepping out of the binary is a form of freedom, authenticity, and also a way of acknowledging a more comprehensive range of life experiences. It is important to note that the definition of sexual orientation varies between individuals.
Eboni Boneé Coleman, a Black queer woman who identifies as pansexual, told Rocky Mountain PBS that she came out 10 years ago. Before that, she felt like she had to prove herself to the hetero-normative world. Coleman said ever since she discovered pansexuality, she feels more authentic and her true self.
“I guess in a better sense, it’s more of being attracted to the soul and the spirit than the physical attraction to the person,” Coleman said of pansexuality. “People are fearful of the unknown, scared of not knowing what to expect. I want people to take Black Pride seriously. I want Black Pride to represent prestige.”
Lex Dunbar, a Black, queer, nonbinary person, said they had to do a lot of self-love and deep soul searching to accept themselves throughout their life.
“I grew up in a Black church, particularly the Pentecostal context. Church did not allow me to be myself,” Dunbar said. “Being Black and queer was not an option for me there. I struggled. Being Black and bisexual wasn’t an option for me back in the day. The story that I tell my family is, they still have a relationship with me because I accepted my queerness. I tell my family that they get to experience me because 'I said yes that I accept Black queerness.' If I had continued to deny my true self, I would not be here having an interview with Rocky Mountain PBS.”
Dunbar said they recently moved to Denver and felt at home in the city because of Black Pride Colorado.
"Black Pride Colorado helps me to continue to be who I am," said Lex Dunbar.
“Being in spaces with folks that were able to reconcile their Blackness with their queerness is truly amazing,” Dunbar said. “Black Pride Colorado helps me to continue to be who I am. I don’t have to hide any parts of myself.”
Theariale St. Cyr, who is Black and queer, told Rocky Mountain PBS he enjoys dressing up in drag. St. Cyr said Black Pride is needed for so many reasons.
“It’s about damn time we had a Black Pride,” St. Cyr said. “We just want something that will showcase and cater to us.”
The Denver Botanic Gardens hosted Denver's first-ever Black Pride with the theme "Black Joy." Dr. Jae said Black Joy encompasses the idea of Black people being unapologetically Black, while also embracing their queer selves.
“Black Pride is about liberating us in a way that is much more about our Blackness and our queerness,” Dr. Jae said. “We are coming in authentically as ourselves and as a whole person.”
Additionally, Black Pride included musical aspect this year. The theme was based on the iconic song "Strange Fruit" by Billie Holiday, which describes the lynching of Black Americans. According to the Equal Justice Initiative, more than 4,000 Black Americans were lynched in the South between 1877 and 1940.
“We were very specific around choosing the song ‘Strange Fruit’ because, in the song, Billie Holiday describes the smell of rotting flesh and associates it with flowers. That is why we chose the Denver Botanical Gardens. The Gardens provide all the smells and all of the flowers there,” Dr. Jae said. “The second reason is a way to honor our ancestors. It was our African ancestors that pushed through slavery and died for us to be able to here and be our excellent selves.”
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