Posted By: WCVB | June 4, 2022 | By: Ted Wayman
BOSTON —
For a third straight year, the city of Boston is not scheduled to hold a pride parade during Pride Month.
The 2020 and 2021 Pride Parade and Festival, which were organized by Boston Pride, were canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.
Then in July 2021, the Boston Pride organization was dissolved following disagreements over race, transgender inclusion and fundraising efforts.
“I grew up with Boston Pride, but this is like a better representation of what that could have been and what it should have been,” Ricky Sauceto said during “Trans Pride: A Celebration of Liberation,” which was held in City Hall Plaza on Saturday.
Sauceto said he came to enjoy the “Trans Pride” event and the vendors who were part of the effort, he adds that Boston’s LGBTQ+ community has to come together.
“Boston Pride wasn’t listening to all of us and that’s OK. They didn’t understand where we were coming from,” Sauceto said.
City officials are encouraging Boston’s LGBTQ+ community to organize their own grassroots events until a larger pride parade is brought back.
“Putting on a parade is a very big endeavor in Boston, and so we’re eager to support the many smaller festivals this year with lots of events tailored to meet every part of our community where they’re at. And we look forward to a point where we can help support a large-scale return of a parade at some point in the future,” said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.
“We’re trying to figure out a new way to make sure everybody feels included and that everybody is on a equal playing field,” said Chastity Bowick, executive director of Transgender Emergency Fund of Massachusetts.
The city has set up a special office to empower, protect and promote the rights, dignity and advancement of Boston’s LGBTQ+ residents, which is known as the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Advancement.