Coronavirus pandemic forces Boston Pride organizers to postpone parade

This year’s Boston Pride Parade has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, organizers and Mayor Martin Walsh said Friday.

The 2021 Pride Parade and Festival will not be held in June because Massachusetts has prohibited large gatherings until it moves into Phase 4 of its reopening. Boston Pride and the city are considering holding the events in the fall if they’re allowed then, organizers said.

“While I know this was a difficult decision to make, postponing Boston’s 2021 Pride Parade and Festival is the right choice as we continue to prioritize the health and safety of all during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” Walsh said in a statement. “In Boston, we are committing to living by the values of inclusion, diversity and acceptance, and that will never change. Our city will continue to support Boston Pride, and when safe to do so, the Pride Parade and Festival will be back and stronger than ever.”

To commemorate Pride Month and Boston Pride’s 50th anniversary, organizers said they are creating a series of virtual events in June, including the Pride Flag Raising at City Hall Plaza and the Pride Lights ceremony to commemorate all those lost to and affected by HIV and AIDS.

“We had hoped to commemorate Boston Pride’s 50th anniversary in June 2021 after having to cancel last year’s Parade and Festival due to the pandemic,” Boston Pride President Linda DeMarco said in a statement. “We know that the pandemic has severely impacted the LGBTQ+ community, and we are working on virtual events to bring together the community in June.”

“Over the last several months, we have pursued the difficult but necessary work of transformation, and we want those efforts to be a central part of our Pride celebrations this year,” she added. “Our community is concerned about racial equity, the resurgence of white supremacy, the needs of BIPOC (Black, indigenous and people of color) members of the LGBTQ+ community, and the dangers that transgender individuals, particularly transgender women of color, face. We are inviting the community to participate in Pride with those concerns in mind.”

Boston Pride is offering several opportunities for people to become involved in the organization, including positions on its board, the Transformation Advisory Committee and the Community Advisory Council.

People who have already signed up and registered for the 2021 Parade and Festival may continue to defer their registration until the next events are scheduled. People who want a refund should contact parade@bostonpride.org or festival@bostonpride.org.

Ed Flynn is the city councilor for District 2, which includes the Back Bay, where the parade starts, and City Hall Plaza, where it ends.

“It’s still important that we recognize our LGBTQ+ residents,” he said, “and recommit ourselves to LGBTQ+ rights.”

 

 

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3bmo9vs