W E LC O M E L E T T E R
Stronger Together The silver lining of the largely unpredicted outcome of the 2016 presidential election is that it has galvanized our community and those of other oppressed minorities into concerted action and resistance. From the Women’s March to demonstrations of support for Muslims at airports, for trans and gender non-conforming students throughout the country, for immigrants and refugees in many cities, and for communities of color, our country is answering the wake-up call. This year’s Boston Pride theme, Stronger Together, is meant to energize and to embrace communities struggling for equal rights for everyone. The intersectionality of our fight is undeniable. It is the crux of why we march, every year, through the streets of our city. It is the reason behind our vying for visibility in the cluttered and noisy media landscape. It is our motivation as an all-volunteer, grassroots organization to work relentlessly to ensure that Boston Pride is a safe and inclusive platform for everyone in our community to celebrate who they are and to voice the messages they wish the world to hear. Already this year, our community worldwide has suffered irreparable losses. The many gay men rounded up, detained, and tortured in Chechnya by government forces are a stark reminder of the need for global queer equality. In that regard, Boston Pride’s contribution as a founding member of InterPride, the international association of Pride organizers, is essential to our mission. Similarly, as of May 1st, nine trans women, each a person of color or indigenous, have already been murdered in the US this year. We #saytheirnames: Mesha Caldwell, Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow, JoJo Striker, Tiara Richmond, Chyna Doll Dupree, Ciara McElveen, Jaquarrius Holland, Alphonza Watson, and Chay Reed. And we march to demand an immediate end to transphobic violence and discrimination. The team at Boston Pride has also worked hard to respond to community calls. First, based on community feedback, our organization changed our Latin@ Pride program’s name to Latinx Pride, as an explicit expression of the program’s inclusiveness of non-binary and gendernonconforming individuals in the community. Second, based on suggestions from our Council of Advisors, Boston Pride adopted the following values statement: • Volunteerism: We value the time, energy, commitment, and passion of our dedicated volunteers. • Awareness: In our aspiration to social, racial, and economic justice, we strive to understand and to respond to our community’s evolving needs.
Sylvain Bruni President
Linda DeMarco Vice President
Credit: Marilyn Humphries.
• Leadership: We believe in developing the future leaders of our community. • Unity: Through collaboration, we wish to unite our community, to embrace our differences, and to end prejudice. • Empowerment: We aim to empower community voices through visibility, and our members through responsibility. • Solidarity: We stand in solidarity with communities at home and around the world, because we are not equal until everyone is equal. From a programmatic perspective, 2017 will be a year of great expansion for Boston Pride. Our Community Fund grant program is supporting 50 percent more organizations than in 2016 (see page 148). Additionally, our Pride Arts program, which seeks to highlight the artistic and cultural achievements of our community, will include three times the number of events compared to last year (see page 18). Boston Pride is equally delighted to announce three new major events: the High Heel Dash, a fun, short race on June 3rd, 2017 to raise monies for the Community Fund (see page 22); Pride Night @ The Revolutions, organized in partnership with the Midnight Riders and the Revolutions soccer team, on June 3rd, 2017 at Gillette Stadium (see page 24); and the Stronger Together Rally, on June 11th, 2017 at the Boston Common (see page 58). The Rally will be held in solidarity with the Global Equality March for Unity and Pride of Washington, DC held the same day. Finally, our heartfelt thanks go to all those who make this programming possible. Every year, our incredible Boston Pride Committee members donate hundreds of hours of their time, starting in September, to plan all of Boston Pride’s events. Our Pride volunteers, who arrive very early in the morning and leave very late in the evening, spend the days of Pride working hard to ensure the success of the events and the full safety of all our attendees. All our sponsors, and especially Delta Air Lines | Virgin Atlantic, Liberty Mutual Insurance, NBC Boston, and TD Bank, contribute their financial and media support to ensure that our organization has the means to carry out its mission for the community. Thank you all for your dedication, your support, and your commitment to making Boston, New England, and the world a better place for our community. We wish you a happy and safe 2017 Boston Pride Week!
Malcolm Carey Treasurer
Charlene Charles Board Member
Marco Torres Board Member #WickedProud | 9
