If Black Prides Disappear, What Do We Lose?

The Center for Black Equity launched a Save Black Prides Campaign, a global call to protect and sustain Black Pride celebrations for 2026 and beyond.

The first time many of us trudged into places holding space for Black Prides, it didn’t just come with the thrilling feeling that often comes with celebrations, It also came with relief.

Relief that we didn’t have to scan the room to figure out if we were safe.
Relief that we didn’t have to explain ourselves, soften ourselves, or split ourselves in half to fit.
Relief that for once our Blackness and queerness weren’t up for debate.

Black Pride has never just been about celebration. It’s always been about survival.
Before it debuted under the moniker “Black Pride,” the black LGBTQ+ community facilitated events across the country built with the intent on celebrating us.

During Memorial Day weekend in May 1975, The Children’s Hour was introduced, the self-proclaimed “Black gay and lesbian festival” was a success with folks on the east coast. The festival, which was often fueled by the sounds of house music, continued to take place until May 1990.

The Children’s Hour’s demise wasn’t due to the low community turnout but due to the shuttering of its official venue, The Club House, which had been ravaged by the effects of the HIV/Aids crisis.

Following the heavy shadow the HIV/AIDS crisis cast on our community and the closing of The Club House, The Children’s Hour’s founders could have taken it as a sign to retreat from hosting future events, but instead they looked at it as a chance for redirection.

The first official Black Pride Celebration, which was tentatively titled “Let’s All Come Together, Black Lesbian and Gay Pride Day,” took place May 25, 1991, in Washington, D.C., at Banneker Field near Howard University.

The celebration, which was the brainchild of organizers Welmore Cook, Theodore Kirkland, and Ernest Hopkins, brought together around 800 people. The historic celebration was fundamental in laying the groundwork for future Black Pride events across the globe.

Fast forward to 2025, Gaye Magazine served as the exclusive storytelling partner for DC Black Pride and World Pride. The event, themed “Black Pride is: Freedom,” saw thousands take part in the nation’s capital to celebrate with parties, performances, parades, and balls.

While there, we got the privilege to speak with Earl D. Fowles, founder of the Center for Black Equity, who attended the first-ever Black Pride celebration in 1991. Fowles recalled being soaked by the heavy rain but feeling a sense of euphoria watching hundreds of his peers gather together in spite of it. “I just couldn’t believe that many people who were a part of the community,” Fowles said.

While Fowles expressed and recalled his version of queer joy like it was just yesterday, we couldn’t help but be grateful, not only for getting the chance to attend DC Black Pride but also for the foundation Fowles and his event-going peers built for us almost 35 years ago.

Today, Black Pride is under threat as our country has normalized the hate-fueled agendas set in motion by our President and his administration.

Fowles explained to us the financial repercussions that have come with his agenda, and it boils down to funding.

At the end of the day, LGBTQ+ Americans are under attack from our own government. The same government that was under the Biden Administration, had access to funding and required resources that went to helping marginalized communities.

While we are a fearless, pride-filled, and boisterous community that has helped cultivate every single part of modern American culture, we are still marginalized and undercut.

Something has to change, or the years of work carried out by the people before us will be in vain.

For decades, Black Prides have functioned as living institutions. They are often the first place someone comes out. The first place someone feels seen. The first place someone accesses health resources without judgment. They are where many Black LGBTQ+ businesses take root, where artists find real audiences, and where organizers build movements without asking permission. And right now, many safe spaces are under real threat.

The Center for Black Equity launched a Save Black Prides Campaign, a global call to protect and sustain Black Pride celebrations for 2026 and beyond.

Across the country and around the world, organizers are facing rising production and security costs, shrinking sponsorship dollars, and a growing political climate that makes gathering more complicated and in some places, dangerous. This isn’t abstract. It shows up in denied permits, program cuts, staff burnout, and stretched safety plans.

So when people ask what happens if Black Prides disappear, the answer is simple. We lose safe places. We lose cultural memory. We lose access to care, connection, and community.

“This campaign isn’t about charity, it’s about survival and liberation,” said Kenya Hutton, President & CEO of the Center for Black Equity. “Black Prides have always been a sanctuary against hate, a stage for our brilliance, and a rallying point for our resistance.”

That’s not just language. It’s a lived experience. Black Prides are where many learn they’re not alone. It’s where black queer joy, which is often politicized and muted, gets a chance to be boisterous. It’s where healing happens out loud.

A simple act with powerful impact! At its core, Save Black Prides is about taking action. Supporters are encouraged to give $26, $260, $2,600 or more, a symbolic nod to the 2026 Pride season. But this isn’t about a number. It’s about sustainability.

Every contribution directly supports Black Pride organizers, funds community programming, and enhances safety initiatives across CBE’s global Black Pride network. Your support helps cover the work most people never see: securing accessible venues, paying staff and artists fairly, protecting attendees, and making sure Black Pride remains a place of freedom, not fear.

The campaign will run through May 2026, with total funds raised and supported initiatives announced during Black Prides. This is a long-term investment in long-term impact.

How You Can Show Up? Supporting this movement doesn’t require perfection. It requires intention.
Donate at centerforblackequity.org/saveblackprides

Share the message and bring others with you. Every dollar counts. Every share matters. Every voice strengthens the fight!

“They want to erase us. We won’t let them,” Hutton said. “When you give, you’re not just donating, you’re defending our right to exist, to celebrate, and to be seen.”

At Gaye Magazine, we know Black Pride is more than an event. It’s a promise to those who came before us, and to those still finding their way.
Saving Black Prides means protecting spaces where we are free to be loud, brilliant, joyful, and completely ourselves. This isn’t about nostalgia. It’s about forward motion. It’s about making sure the next person walking into Black Pride feels the same relief we once did.

Now is the moment. Save Black Prides.

@gayemag 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 — ✊🏽🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️Gayes, have you ever wondered who’s behind your city’s Black Pride event!? Meet some of the founders and producers shaping & powering Black Pride nationwide! ~Swipe We caught up with these amazing visionairies during #PrideMonth ♬ original sound – Gaye Magazine