Bay Windows - June 9, 2005
Ethan Jacobs, ejacobs@baywindows.com.

Since its founding six years ago the event has existed as a program of Men of Color Against AIDS (MOCAA), which in turn became a program of the Multicultural AIDS Coalition (MAC) in 2002. Each year organizers plan a series of events on a shoestring budget without the benefit of corporate sponsorship, and many of the volunteers who plan events pay for expenses out of pocket.

Thus far the approach has worked, and this year's Unity Pride, which kicked off with an opening ceremony June 8 at the South End's Harriet Tubman House, boasts an impressive roster of parties, educational forums, performances, and community events. But James, who heads MOCAA as MAC's head of programs for gay and bi men, said organizers realize that if they want to sustain the event year after year, they will need to find corporate sponsors and other funding sources.

"We're clear that in order to keep this working, it has to change, and we're going to need to get some private dollars to support this process," said James.

He also said organizers are wrestling with issues around the event's name and identity. The name "Unity Pride" was chosen to reflect a multicultural focus, but James said the event was founded specifically as a black Pride event, and he hopes by next year the event will have a new name that reflects that focus.

"The words 'Unity Pride' were inclusive and created because we felt like we needed to be politically correct, instead of just saying 'black gay Pride' like other states," he said, citing cities like Washington D.C. and Atlanta. "I think we're in the process of trying to figure out, do we really need that 'unity,' or can we just call it what it is, which is black gay Pride."

Not everyone involved in planning Unity Pride agrees with a shift in the event's name or identity. Jacquie Bishop, one of the co-chairs of last year's Unity Pride and a producer of this year's June 10 Unity Pride art slam, said she would like to see the event retain its name, although she admits she may be in the minority. In part she wants the event to remain welcoming to people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds. She added that given Boston's small size, a celebration that just focuses on the black gay community, a minority within a minority in a city of 600,000, may not be sustainable.

"We can't have a successful event in terms of numbers and in terms of money without the support of our friends who are not black... I would like to see Unity Pride be a multicultural, multiracial event," said Bishop.

Yet James expects that by 2006 the event will have a new moniker, possibly Black Unity Pride.

"I'm definitely sure that 'black' is going to come first, and that's important," said James.

The event may be in a transitional stage, but this year's organizers have a strong sense of purpose, summed up in this year's Unity Pride theme, "Ignite the Power." Glenn Williams, this year's event director and a consultant to MAC, said while the celebration includes the usual mix of social events, there is a particular focus on events with a political and educational emphasis to empower Boston's black LGBT community.

One of the centerpieces of that effort is a series of educational forums on June 9. From 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. the Harriet Tubman House will host the "Brothers Igniting the Power Forum," which will focus specifically on addressing the issues facing black men, from healthcare disparities to visibility to a lack of social spaces in Boston that welcome black gay men.

"We're going to present a series of workshops to have gay men examine both from a personal standpoint, and then from a community standpoint, what it's like to be a person of color living in Boston, and then how we can build support and mentoring mechanisms in the community so that we're not victims of what's going on, but agents," said Williams.

The event will be followed by an "Intergenerational Dialogue" at the Boston Living Center, in which black gay men of different generations will share experiences and try to find commonalties.

Williams said in keeping with the theme he hopes the forums "ignite" a conversation that extends long after the end of Unity Pride.

"For Unity Pride this [educational component] is fairly new, and we want to make this a yearlong activity. We don't want Unity Pride to end on Pride day. We want to continue this discussion. We want this to be the spark that continues this discussion," said Williams.

That spark continues the next evening at "Slam This," an art slam organized by Bishop, Ife Franklin, and designer Nigel Ramsey. The event is an open mic event where all are invited to share their poetry, music, and film [Bay Windows incorrectly lists the event in the Pride calendar, which went to press before the news section, as a women's event], but there is also a roster of scheduled performers whose works have a political edge. Chaz Bennet Brach, a New York filmmaker, will preview footage from his forthcoming documentary on Sakia Gunn, an African-American lesbian teenager who was murdered in a vicious anti-gay attack in 2003. Bishop will present a piece on LGBT people who have been tortured and murdered around the world. There will also be a reading of black gay male literature from the '80s and '90s, comedy, jazz and a fashion show.

"It's a party with a purpose, and I always include political work in the events I produce," said Bishop.

Williams said one of the other highlights of the weekend is the June 12 gospel brunch, which takes place at Union United Methodist Church after the 10 a.m. worship service.

"That is also one of the next really important issues that we're going to be tackling with the MAC, the whole issue of the black church and the black gay community and how active the black church has been in creating a hostile atmosphere for gay and lesbian communities," said Williams, who said that Union United's pastor, the Rev, Martin McLee, has been an important exception. He hopes the gospel brunch helps build a dialogue between the gay community and the black church.

McLee said Union United has participated officially in Unity Pride for five years.He hopes the brunch breaks down some of the barriers between the black gay community and the church.

"One of the things that happens is you often hear negative comments about the black church and the LGBT community, but gay folks have always been in the black church. It's not new," said McLee. "Certainly by the presence of a specific gay-centered event in a black church it helps to debunk the myth of two divided camps, the gay community and the black church."

The event's centerpiece is the MAC community cookout, which takes place at Dillaway Thomas House in Roxbury from noon to 6 p.m. on June 11. Seven years ago James said he began the cookout because he felt that Pride was not sufficiently inclusive of the black community, and he wanted to create a Pride event that honored black LGBT people. The event was a success, and when MOCAA launched Unity Pride the first year the cookout became a staple of the event. The cookout serves as a gathering place for those who do not feel comfortable at the Pride parade, but it runs long enough that those who attend Pride can come to the cookout after the parade. Lee said he was inspired to launch the cookout after attending the black Pride celebrations in New York and D.C., and he and other members of the community felt it was important to build something for the black LGBT community in Boston.

"It grew because we needed to have something that looked like us, tasted like us, that was for us, ran by us, the voices that we heard on the mic were people that were like us," said James. "And I think that's really important to have a sense of pride about your black culture and about being black and gay, it's really important."

For a complete listing of Unity Pride events see the Pride calendar in this week's special supplement.

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