Boston Pride has postponed its June 7 forum where the top six contenders vying to be the next mayor of Boston were to discuss LGBTQ issues. They put the event on hold after three of the six mayoral contenders withdrew to attend an alternative forum, scheduled for the same time, by LGBTQ social justice groups calling for a boycott of Boston Pride.
Boston Pride has now rescheduled its mayoral forum to the following Monday, June 14.
Reports the Boston Globe:
Following conversations with LGBT residents, city councilors Andrea Campbell, Annissa Essaibi George, and Michell Wu said Tuesday that they were pulling out of Boston Pride’s virtual forum to attend a separate Zoom event Monday hosted by Mass NOW, Trans Resistance, the Transgender Emergency Fund, and the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition.
Their announcements come amid criticism from the coalition of LGBTQ groups that Boston Pride hasn’t been sufficiently inclusive of Black and transgender members. Since last year, the groups have also been pressing Boston Pride, which organizes the city’s largest pride parade, to diversify its board, which has no Black members.
“We are holding this forum at the same time as Boston Pride’s forum for the same reason we’re holding the Trans Resistance March on the same day as Boston Pride — to boycott Boston Pride until they transition leadership,” said an invitation to the mayoral candidates, according to The Boston Globe.
Campbell, Essaibi George, and Wu subsequently accepted. In a statement, Essaibi George said the “decision is difficult for me because, for decades, Boston Pride has laid the groundwork here locally for so many to follow.” But she added that it was clear that many in the LGBT community, especially those who are trans, Black, indigenous, or people of color, “are not being represented by this organization.”
Read the complete Globe story here.
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