Two years ago, local LGBTQ organization BreakOUT! pulled out of the local Pride parade. After the Pulse nightclub shooting, the New Orleans Pride organization decided to increase police presence at the parade, and the organizers at BreakOUT!, led by LGBTQ youth of color, felt unsafe with more NOPD officers at the parade. Instead of providing security, they posed a direct threat to many BreakOUT! members who had been subject to harassment and abuse by NOPD. Despite this notable act of defiance, Pride continues to ignore the needs and history of local working class queer and trans people, especially LGBTQ people of color.
New Orleans Pride this year has the theme of “300 Years of Diversity,” tapping into the attention focused on the tricentennial to cash in. They have chosen the CEO of the New Orleans Tourism Board as their Grand Marshal, and they boast of many corporate sponsors, including Walgreens and General Electric (GE). As in past years, the parade will feature NOPD and members of the US military.
Though “efforts” have been made within NOPD to “address” accusations of anti-LGBTQ violence, no real changes have come. Though the US military boasts of its inclusion of gay soldiers, it continues to cause the oppression of LGBTQ communities around the world as they bomb countries in Africa and the Middle East and prop up right-wing governments that target LGBTQ people. Corporations like GE profit off of the military industrial complex while using their allegedly enlightened hiring practices to distract from the exploitation of working class LGBTQ people. While New Orleans Pride brings in money to the tourism capitalists, the rest of us struggle to get by because we have no money for health insurance, can’t get jobs, and don’t have access to basic needs.
Pride was born out of struggle: out of resistance against police brutality and solidarity with oppressed people around the world. For 300 years, white supremacy has defined New Orleans. Colonial violence and slavery denied queer and trans lives among the indigenous and enslaved people here, and violence against LGBTQ Americans has disproportionately affected people of color in New Orleans and around the country. “300 Years of Diversity” is an insult to those who resisted this oppression.
We are organizing to continue the struggle against homophobia, transphobia, sexism, and racism present in New Orleans. All working class LGBTQ people are welcome to join us in making sure our voices are heard and the original spirit of Pride is honored in this city. For more information on this new Pride Committee, contact us at: queerworkersnola@gmail.com.