President of Boston Pride to resign amid boycotts, protests over lack of inclusion: report
The president of Boston Pride said she would resign this summer, amid an increasing number of boycotts and protests by activists who have complained about the group’s lack of inclusion.
Linda DeMarco confirmed her decision to step down in an interview published Thursday in The Boston Globe, saying that her exit plan is “a little accelerated now because I think the boycott is really hurting the community.”
The news comes just ahead of the 50th anniversary of Boston Pride.
Earlier this year, the organization announced that the 2021 Pride Parade and Festival would not be held in June “due to the ongoing state of emergency declared due to the coronavirus pandemic.”
The group, along with city officials, said at the time that they were considering moving the in-person events to “a date in fall 2021 if all conditions are in place for such events.”
“We had hoped to commemorate Boston Pride’s 50th anniversary in June 2021 after having to cancel last year’s Parade and Festival due to the pandemic,” DeMarco said in a statement released in February, adding that the organization was working on a number of virtual events to mark the date.
“Over the last several months, we have pursued the difficult but necessary work of transformation and we want those efforts to be a central part of our Pride celebrations this year,” she added. “Our community is concerned about racial equity, the resurgence of white supremacy, the needs of BIPOC members of the LGBTQ+ community, and the dangers that transgender individuals, particularly transgender women of color, face.”
Just a reminder that Boston Pride released a pro-cop statement last year and had official policies to not acknowledge the Black Lives Matter movement.
For anyone in Boston, there's a boycott of all official events until the entire board resigns. Please don't attend any events.— ✨Lucille XOXO✨ (She/They) (@itslucillexoxo) June 10, 2021
But to an increasing number of activists, members of the board have not done enough. Many have been pushing for a boycott of any official Boston Pride events — virtual or in-person.
In June 2020, activists demanded the resignation of the organization’s entire board.
“The growing number of individuals and organizations...calling for members of the current board to step down indicates that the current Pride Board no longer holds the trust of LGBTQ+ community that Boston Pride is supposed to serve,” activists with Pride 4 the People said in a statement released on June 30, 2020.
The move came after the Boston Pride was criticized for its lackluster statement on police brutality.
On Thursday, Boston-based drag queen and LGBTQ activist Lucille XOXO wrote about the on-going boycott on Twitter.
“Just a reminder that Boston Pride released a pro-cop statement last year and had official policies to not acknowledge the Black Lives Matter movement,” she tweeted. “For anyone in Boston, there’s a boycott of all official events until the entire board resigns. Please don’t attend any events.”
In a later tweet she said that, even though Boston Pride’s statements have improved since last summer, “the entire board still remains. For years, the board has had a history of anti-Black racism.”
“Until the entire board responsible for these statements and [policies] resigns, please continue to boycott the official Boston Pride,” she added.
On Saturday, Trans Resistance MA, a collective of queer and trans activists in the Boston area, will hold its second annual March and Vigil for Black Trans Lives.
Formed in June 2020 by Boston-based trans and queer activists, Trans Resistance MA was created after “years of contention with the Boston Pride board for being trans-exclusionary in their process, vision, and work and failing to equitably represent the magical TQBIPOC (trans, queer, black, Indigenous people of color) community in Boston,” according to its website.
Its mission is to respond to “transphobic and cissexist actions, including violence and systemic oppression, through resistance.”
