Health restrictions and violence against Black people has made it harder than ever to celebrate Pride this year
Photo: We Are/Getty ImagesIf you let many Black queer folks tell it, Pride isn’t that big of a deal because we’re queer 24/7, all year long.
Despite that, Black and Brown gays have always managed to make our own spaces whether it be small gatherings, picnics, or meager club outings where friends invite their friends to create as solid of a pack as possible when entering a place that may not be so familiar, all in the name of a good time.
Black queers who’d usually be spending this time most intimately with friends and loved ones, like myself, are restricted to virtual events at a time when physically being in community with your people is what matters and marks this time of year most.
The party gathered a mixed crowd, and it was the only place I regularly met a substantial amount of queer Black and Brown people, free to have a good time without judgment or limitations of expression.
Because as much as cities “open up,” I still don’t trust small, socially distanced gatherings knowing how the virus is impacting Black people at significantly higher rates than its impacting White communities.
