Thomas also stated that the organization reached out to the NYPD and the Gay Officers Action League (GOAL) “to clarify our positions and get their feedback,” as well as addition outreach to GOAL “several weeks ago to give them a chance to express their thoughts.”
“Our position continues to be that the Pride movement started as a response to police brutality, and this step continues to acknowledge that,” Thomas said.
When questioned on the timing of this decision, given the fact that activists have been demanding a cop-free pride for years, Thomas stated that the decision was informed by “our conversations with GOAL, and the process of trying to hold them to task for the work the community feels they need to do to hold the NYPD accountable” and that “social movements today demanded action.”
According to Thomas, NYC Pride “offered [GOAL] the opportunity to participate not in uniform, but they couldn’t provide any guarantees that their officers would show up not in uniform and unarmed,” adding that “GOAL has been silent, and has sidestepped issues related to abuses minorities face.”
Ultimately though, Thomas said that GOAL was the organization that needed to take accountability. “They’re the insider organization in the NYPD, not us, they’re the ones with the ability to spur change,” Thomas concluded.
Some activists, however, pushed back on this claim. Reclaim Pride and ACT UP organizer Jason Rosenberg tweeted that “this long-delayed decision conveniently erases the years and years of meetings, town halls, and in-person organizing by
@queermarch,” and that the statement also did not acknowledge a 2017 incident in which 12 protesters were arrested at NYC Pride.
When asked about this incident, NYC Pride stated that “the leadership of our organization has changed since that incident,” with the Board being “the most diverse it’s ever been, including one of our Co-Chairs being the first African-American male ever to serve in this leadership role.”
The organization also stated that the theme of this year’s event, “The Fight Continues,” and its ongoing work recognize the fact that not all members of the community have equal access to LGBTQ+ rights, citing 2021’s numerous anti-trans bills while “acknowledging all the incidents in the past that have led us to this inflection point for Pride movements.”
However, Rosenberg shared his belief that Heritage of Pride “has outlived their time.”
“Queer Liberation March is now its third year and the movement to reclaim a pride that is cop and corporation free continues to build each year,” Rosenberg said in an email. He also stated that “there is also a complete distrust with HOP organizers,” considering the organization’s collaborations with GOAL and the NYPD, “including but not limited to” the 2017 incident.
“Nowhere in the statement does it include an apology or acknowledgment of that in addition to the complete erasure of the years and years of labor from Reclaim Pride NYC, No Justice No Pride, and others,” Rosenberg added.
Rosenberg also criticized NYC Pride’s decision to rely on private security firms, quoting the artist and activist Tourmaline, who said, “When we say abolish the police, we also mean the cop in your head and in your heart.”
“There is no Queer Liberation with any type of police presence,” Rosenberg said. “The only safety is in solidarity.”
For now, NYC Pride is taking place virtually this year on June 27. The Reclaim Pride March will also take place on June 27, but will take the form of a physical gathering stepping off from Manhattan’s Bryant Park at 3 p.m.
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