Heritage of Pride, organizers of NYC Pride—announced Saturday that it will ban police and corrections officers from marching as a group in the annual Pride parade on June 27 and through 2025.
The policy was meant to protect the dignity, pride, and respect of persons of color, transgender, and indigenous Americans who have a well-documented history of abuse at the hands of police and corrections officers in the U.S., according to the group.
This is especially true through the Black Lives Matter and Stop Asian Hate movements and increasing transgender attacks—and in the wake of Derek Chauvin’s guilty verdict in the murder of George Floyd.
“NYC Pride is unwilling to contribute in any way to creating an atmosphere of fear or harm for members of the community,” the group said.
But the effort was slammed by the Gay Officers Action League (GOAL) and its president Brian Downey, “The abrupt about-face in order to placate some of the activists in our community is shameful.”
“Heritage of Pride is well aware that the city would not allow a large scale event to occur without police presence. So their response to activist pressure is to take the low road by preventing their fellow community members from celebrating their identities and honoring the shared legacy of the Stonewall Riots,” Downey said in a statement.
NYC Pride said that it will utilize private security vendors and volunteers to maintain public safety during the parade and events.
It noted that the presence of NYPD is threatening to members of the LGBT community who view them as oppressors.
The organization believes this policy “challenges law enforcement to acknowledge their harm and to correct course moving forward.”
