The organization Philadelphia Black Pride is gearing up for a long weekend of events to celebrate, educate and foster mental wellness for Black and Brown LGBTQ communities. This year’s theme is “Black, Joy, Healing,” and will feature a diverse array of parties, events and conversations from April 27 to 30.
“For me, [Black Pride] is about a celebration of who I am, enjoying how I came into myself authentically, and sharing that with other people like myself who will feel the same way that I do,” said Philadelphia Black Pride (PBP) President Le Thomas. “This is a way of giving back and helping to create space, and expand what was given to me in a way that I can expand it for someone else — for future generations.”
Black Pride will offer a variety of events, including a “Welcome 2 Philly!!!” happy hour, late night karaoke, a 90s-themed skate party, and mental health-centric programming, such as a group sports event, yoga, a live podcast taping, and a conversation about community mental wellness needs led by Black and Brown clinicians from the Therapy Center of Philadelphia. The PBP team plans to offer a mental wellness first aid station at one of the events.
The live podcast, “Is it Crystal Clear,” will feature a conversation about the dangers of crystal meth use, which is high among LGBTQ communities and the population on the whole, Thomas said.
“One of the reasons why Black Pride was created was because [addiction] affects the Black and Brown community differently than it does other communities,” Thomas added. “We always have to take it a step further to make sure that we are promoting awareness and resources to educate and support people who are struggling and dealing.”
Another feature of Black Pride weekend is a partnership between PBP and radical social justice organization galaei to hold the Black and Brown Excellence Expo (B.A.B.E.). B.A.B.E. will feature an afternoon of workshops that will uplift and celebrate QTBIPOC artists in Philadelphia.
Attendees who are interested in the ballroom scene can check out the Pride ball “Ballympics,” hosted by PBP Vice President, makeup artist and ballroom icon Jacen Bowman. Ballroom is an international cultural phenomenon that originated with Black and Brown LGBTQ communities, in which different houses compete for trophies and prizes.
“When I talk about mental wellness, I want to approach it from a place of having different ways of protecting and creating space for mental wellness,” Thomas said. “It’s not necessarily your typical route with you and your therapist in that one on one session. It’s through dancing, it’s through music, it’s through ballroom.”
Bowman pointed out the fact that the subject of mental health does not often come up in Black LGBTQ communities, and that pandemic-fueled lockdowns added complexity to a lack of mental health awareness.
“Being Black is one thing; being Black and gay is another thing; then being Black, gay — and if you’re coming from the introspector of being a male or being queer-identifying or trans or non binary, or a lesbian — it’s really important for your mental health to be strong so that you make sound mental decisions for your everyday life,” Bowman said.
The diversity of this year’s Black Pride events mirrors the idea that the meaning of Black Pride differs slightly on an individual basis. “I believe Black Pride to me means me celebrating my Blackness, but also celebrating me being Black and queer and living out loud,” Bowman said.
Along with the community coming together for Black Pride weekend to celebrate and heal, Bowman hopes that attendees find more ways of getting involved in PBP.
“I got involved in Black Pride because I got tired of being that person that would always be complaining about change,” he said. “I actually wanted to use my voice, use my access, and use my platform to really help do the work. I’m watching throughout the country so many things that were put in place to protect us are now being rolled back. I hope that more people come forward who want to help mobilize communities. It’s important to me as a mentor and a leader in the community to also be an effective follower and to help bring forth more voices that are young and who are just as hungry as I was.”
Philly Black Pride was born out of the COLOURS Organization in 1998, which the late activist Mike Hinson led at the time. Hinson and his fellow community leaders of color believed that Philly’s mainstream Pride events did not reflect the intersection of LGBTQ identities and Black and Brown identities.
“There are oftentimes nuances within LGBTQ+ communities that for a host of reasons get lost in larger sponsored kinds of events,” Hinson told PGN in a past interview. “There was a group of us who believed that those nuances, particularly at the time we founded Philly Black Pride, were so critical to survival. We needed to have space that was by and for Black communities, Latinx communities.”
Additional organizations and nightlife partners for 2023 Black Pride events include Bebashi, the COLOURS Organization, Gilead, PFLAG, Stonewall Philly, Philly AIDS Thrift, the Center for Black Equity, LevelUp Bar & Lounge, The MainEvent Philly, Sway Philly, Slay a Nevets Production, JaLayTay Productions, G-Style Productions and Simply Christopher.
For more information about PBP events, visit https://phillyblackpride.org/.