Wanted to post some thoughts about Pittsburgh Pride: Pride in general, and what all of that brings to mind. I probably need to start with a disclaimer. I sit on the Board of Directors for the Delta Foundation of Pittsburgh, the organization responsible for Pittsburgh Pride. However, my comments below reflect my views and I do not speak for the organization here. These are just some personal thoughts.
I didn’t join the Delta board because of Pride, but I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of Pride. I was on the Board of the GLCC many years ago when they decided to move Pride to Ellsworth Avenue. In fact I left the board over Pride. I didn’t feel enough was being done to assure that Pride was organized to function within a budget. I remember my very first Pittsburgh Pride which was many years ago. At that time the parade went from the Civic Arena down to Point State Park. Since The Delta Foundation has been doing Pride, it has just grown by leaps and bounds. All of us here in Pittsburgh should be grateful for all of those Pride committees who helped bring Pride to where it is now in 2011.
Many events make up Pride
I love the fact that Pittsburgh Pride is made up of many events that each speak to a different part of Pride. I don’t believe anyone can complain that there isn’t some part of Pride that is for them. That’s as it should be. Everyone ought to be able to find some place in the whole of Pride that fits them, their tastes, their perspectives and their needs from Pride. This year, I was thrilled to see a women’s event added as well as a Trans Pride event. I didn’t get to either one, but heard glowing comments about both.
Advocacy Rally
The Advocacy Rally which kicks off Pride week is one of the most important events. This was the 2nd year for the event, and it really built upon last year’s success and surpassed it. While all the speakers were good, I was especially moved by Mary Kay Totty, pastor from Dumbarton United Methodist Church in DC, and Zach Wahls from Iowa. Stuart Milk was good, but he is a seasoned pro when it comes to speaking, and it showed. Zach and Mary Kay on the other hand, are just real every day people doing extraordinary advocacy work. Their presence as well as their message shared lets everyone know that no matter who you are, there is a place for you to step up and be a part of bringing Equality into reality. I left the advocacy rally remembering why I care about all of this LGBT Rights “stuff” and believing that I make a difference, and can make a difference if I continue.
Mary Kay also prompted me to revisit my own thoughts about the Methodist Church, inclusion and the role of the mainstream Faith Communities in the struggle for Equality. If you didn’t know, at one time I was a lay preacher within the Methodist Church.
The Gay and Lesbian Media
In cooperation with Visit Pittsburgh, a group of LGBT media was invited to Pittsburgh. They spent several days being taken all around and learning about what Pittsburgh has to offer. They also attended a bunch of Pride events beginning with a cocktail party and dinner Friday evening. I was able to spend lots of time with some of these folks, and it was so much fun.
“Partnerships” is probably a great way to encapsulate Pittsburgh Pride in a single word. This project with VisitPittsburgh is just one example. Seems to me there are two very different approaches to doing Pride. One is to isolate our “community,” and the other is to focus on opening up our arms and inviting many others to come in and enjoy Pride with us. If we are proud, then it makes sense that we would want to share that.
Got me thinking that maybe I should write about more than politics and culture. Maybe I could join this type of entourage on trips to other cities…
Patti Labelle
While I’ve heard some complaints that Patti wasn’t upbeat enough for Pride, I don’t think I agree with that at all. I thought she rocked Pride! I’ve been trying all week to figure out how to describe why I thought she was so essential to Pride this year, and I’m not sure I have the words even now. There have been a few great moments in my life where I’ve been present for “something” that was unique and special. I guess I’m a snob in this regard. I tend to equate “straight” settling with mediocre. And “gay” is aligned with bringing things together in such away that something greater than the moment happens. Patti was one of those “moments” to me.
PrideFest
In my capacity as advocacy chair, I worked the booth for Equality Partners of Western PA, and collected almost 600 letters to PA State Representatives and Senators, signed by people at Pride. This was so much fun even though it was a lot of work.
I met a guy!
One of the best parts of Pride for me this year was that I met a guy who I was so totally attracted to, and who seemed to be pretty into me too! OK, nothing crazy happened. He has a boyfriend and so do I, and he lives far away. But nothing more needed to happen for this to have been what it was. You see, I’m not gay because I have sex with other guys. It isn’t about behavior or actions, no matter how much the Far Right Crazies and the Catholic Church tries to make it out that way. I’m gay because of some thing that happens in my heart and mind and “gut” and it is all about attraction. It is something that I feel and know it comes from my very being.
I know my boyfriend loves me and thinks the world of me, but something happens when someone else is attracted to you! It was a a reminder to think of myself differently. I can so easily think of myself as old and invisible- but those are self-destructive tapes that play in my head. I really don’t have to pay attention to them. Meeting someone and feeling that attraction made me feel 25 years old all over again, and that was amazing!
There was a moment on Sunday when there were about 7 of us together, including Brad my partner, a mutual friend, me, this guy, and a few others. In the car driving home, Brad was laughing at me. The attraction was pretty clear and visible to him. It is really great when parts of you are awakened and bring a new energy into your life and perspective.
Living Pride everyday
So Pride has come and gone, but the real work is now in this day. And in tomorrow and the next day too. One way to think about the value of Pride is to see how to take bits and pieces of those things that we call Pride and carry them along into the rest of all the days of the year.