And for inclusion, we need to have everyone feel on the same page. What it represents makes them feel unsafe and unwelcome. That uniform, for the communities who are speaking to us, is a symbol. The other aspect is the uniformed police officers marching.
But definitely taking the visibility down to a certain degree, using more community affairs officers, using less of a militarized type looking response, that is something I think we are in good faith, and working with the NYPD, and the city towards. We know that we can’t not do in New York City, large-scale in size, without the NYPD presence. Safety and security of our events is key. And so the two main aspects we were looking at is, one, reducing visibility of the police. And so we took it upon ourselves to really listen to the community. But then last year, there were some interactions between protesters in Washington Square Park and the NYPD that happened on Pride Sunday. Fast forward to 2019, the NYPD apologized for the events at Stonewall. Stonewall riots started as a protest against police brutality. This has been a conversation that’s been going on in many pride movements globally. How did that decision happen? andre thomas I want to know what went behind that decision. Brian Downey is a New York City police detective and President of GOAL, the Gay Officers Action League, an advocacy group that does sensitivity training for police recruits and community outreach, among other things.įor people who are not acquainted with New York City Pride, or who might be new to this particular issue, or who are not locked in to what Pride celebrations look like in New York, Andre, in May, your group announced that uniformed police officers would not be able to March in Pride until 2025. Andre Thomas is co-chair of NYC Pride, the group that decided uniformed officers could not participate. Today, I’m talking with representatives from the two groups who have clashed over New York’s Pride march. For some people, Pride is a march welcome to everyone and anyone, regardless of politics or employment.īut for others, Pride is a movement and a protest against the power structures that have failed and continue to fail LGBT people, particularly trans people and people of color. And for me, it raised a larger question about what Pride is and who it’s for. But it drew criticism from others, including LGBT cops. The decision drew cheers from some for making it a safer space for more people.
Police officers are still welcome to participate, but not in uniform. In response this year, NYC Pride and pride marches across the country have decided to bar uniformed officers from marching.
A year after, the agency apologized for the actions taken by officers at Stonewall 50 years earlier. Last year, protesters said NYPD officers used pepper spray and shoved demonstrators at a Queer Liberation March in New York’s Washington Square Park. The Compton’s Cafeteria Riots of 1966, the Stonewall uprising in June 1969, both were reactions to police violence against LGBT people, state violence against LGBT people. Louis, Missouri, I remember being struck by the sight of cops in uniforms, marching and holding hands with their partners, not just because they were cops, but because the idea of being a cop and being out was stunning to me at the time, that you could simultaneously hold two identities in public and everyone could know about both of them, and that could be OK.īut I also know that the origin story of Pride is a story of police brutality. Today on The Argument, is it wrong to ban gay cops from marching in a Pride parade in uniform? And I think that there are good, decent LGBT police officers out there. But I also refuse to believe that every single police officer is a bad person. And I’m feeling torn, myself, because Stonewall was a riot against police raids and police brutality, which continues today. But I’ve also seen a lot of really passionate support for it from community activists. And it’s drawn some condemnation from places like the New York Times. I’m arguing with my friends, online with strangers, and just feeling internally conflicted about the New York City pride decision to not let LGBT officers march in the parade. A gay officer and a New York parade organizer talk through the fallout. Transcript Whose Pride Is It Anyway? The decision to bar uniformed police officers from Pride marches has drawn cheers - and criticism.