The Naked Truth/Jamala Rogers
The Pride Community Must Know its True Friends in 2025
This year’s Pride Month was a testament that things are changing. While the enthusiasm was greater than ever, the diminished corporate financial support was evident. In most places, activities were scaled back. In other places, organizers were forced to charge fees to offset the deficit. This may be a good time for the LGBTQA+ folk to assess its priorities and values as homophobic attacks intensify. The gay community is facing the biggest challenges ever.
The bullying tactics of trump to destroy Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives (DEI) have been decisive and crushing. From universities caving in to senators not running for re-election, the weak are kowtowing for different reasons. The results are the same: no rights or respect for people of color, women or gay people.
There are big companies who have said adios to gay rights that are worth reporting. I’ve never been clear if they truly were beaten into submission to support white supremacy or if they only half-heartedly supported the cause in the first place. When trump gave them out, well, they got out. They have proven to be fair-weather friends who cut and run when the going gets rough.
Anheuser-Busch gave big dollars to its hometown Pride in St. Louis for thirty years. This year, local organizers struggled to make up the $150,000 gap in funding.
What about Target, already the focus of a national boycott? After the company yanked their DEI commitments, the biggest Pride Festival in its home state gave Target the boot. Pride raised twice as much money once donated by Target in 24 hours. I guess people were contributing all the dollars they were saving from not shopping at the retail giant.
It should come as no surprise that corporate bloodsuckers like Google, Citi, Walmart, Booz Allen Hamilton Holding and the likes followed suit. These are the same companies guilty of wage disparities, sexual discrimination and unneighborly practices. That’s why social movement organizations need to be more careful about where their monies come from. If we’re all honest here, there was no shared vision or values.
If we look closer, we’d probably see that these are the same corporations lining the pockets of MAGA elected and appointed officials who are working overtime to take down this democracy.
Last year, the American Civil Liberties Union followed 533 anti-gay bills with red states leading the charge. This year over 850 pieces of legislation have been introduced targeting transgendered beings. Members of the LGBTQA+ community are being kicked out of the U.S. military. They are being denied health care. They are being blocked from playing sports. Schools are being threatened for affirming their trans students. They are being assaulted for being who they are.
As is his practice, trump has created a hostile environment for gay folks to live, work and play. He and his MAGA minions would love to turn back the clock before the Stonewall Uprising of 1969. An ugly time when gay people were forced to live in the shadows, criminalized for their sexual behaviors and discriminated against in all levels of society.
It is time for some genuine introspection by the LGBTQA+ movement, itself guilty of practicing racism, classism and other forms of patriarchy within its ranks. It is time to seek out new allies who are unconditionally committed to the rights and liberties of gay human beings.
It is imperative that we bring people into the struggle who value diversity, equity and inclusion. It is the only way we stop America from being white and straight again.