Philly Black Pride celebrating 25 years of elevating LGBTQ+ people of color while shining a light on inequity
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Since 1999, thousands of people have gathered in the city of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection to celebrate the annual Philadelphia Black Pride (PBP). The festivities are from April 25 to 28 which is also around the time of the Penn Relays.
"We thought about those programs that truly represent the organization and highlighted the work that we did throughout those 25 years," said PBP President Le Thomas.
The annual celebration honors LGBTQ+ people of color while highlighting the historical inequalities the community has faced.
"Look at housing, access to health care, access to programming, access to living in the city of Philadelphia," said PBP Vice President Jacen Bowman.
"The theme, this year the organization will couple sponsorship dollars and proceeds from several events, to distribute grants in honor of Michael Hinson, a Black gay leader and founding member of PBP who passed away in 2022 after years of service to the LGBTQ+ community and city as a whole," Thomas said. "We're awarding three individuals who display some of Michael Hinson's attributes in terms of community leadership — people who are engaged in creating awareness and access to resources for Black and Brown folks. Applications will open during Black Pride weekend, and recipients will be awarded during Pride Month."
Why does Black Gay Pride matter?
"One of the major problems that I feel like happens often is people forget that we are Black first and queer second," Bowman said. "I can remember my life being at risk every day just getting on the Broad Street Line, navigating through school. All those things made it important for me to be part of the board to help shape what Black Pride looks like."
Shaping lives like Zavione Lanvin, a legendary ballroom icon who says LGBTQ+ organizations like PBP allowed him to be his authentic self.
"I opened up my own kiki house to give the youth another safe place to come and be themselves," said Lanvin. "Right now, I'm leaving my mark by giving back and doing what I can do for the new generation because of what people did for me coming up."