I received the following press release from the recently formed Roots Pride Pittsburgh:

FIRST ANNUAL ROOTS PRIDE CELEBRATION HELD IN RESPONSE TO DELTA FOUNDATION’S PRIDE PARADE

LOCAL GRASSROOTS EVENT CELEBRATES QUEER AND TRANS PEOPLE OF COLOR

PITTSBURGH, PA — Roots Pride Pittsburgh organizers and supporters will host a press conference to be held on June 4, 2015 from 1:30pm-2:30pm at Delta Foundation of Pittsburgh, 911 Galveston Ave, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15233, in response to the recent controversy surrounding the Delta Foundation’s annual Pride in the Streets; national and global systemic and structural violence; and, to share our vision for a thriving future for queer and trans folks of color here in the city of Pittsburgh. The Delta Foundation recently received backlash when it announced that Australian rapper Iggy Azalea would headline the Pride in the Streets with the slogan #allyouneedislove. The singer has a history of questionable homophobic tweets.

Roots Pride Pittsburgh, a #QTPOCPittsburgh an initiative lead by Joy KMT, Micheal David Battle and a local coalition of LGBTQIA Activist, is an intentional 4-day long celebration from June 11-14, 2015 to honor the lives and lived experiences across the entire spectrum of race, class, gender, orientation, and ability within the LGBTQIA+ community.

In a statement from Roots Pride organizer Joy KMT, “Although Delta Foundation’s Pittsburgh Pride’s slogan this year is ‘all you need is love’, we understand that there is no love without intentionality, no love without solidarity and no love without justice.
We have found the Delta Foundation’s Pittsburgh Pride to be sorely lacking in the requirements for love, which is why we are creating our own.”

“Pride did not start off as the sole property of cis, gay, white, men,” she continues. “Pride is the result of uprisings against police brutality led by trans and queer people of color. We have seen that far too often, Pride is centered on the desires of affluent, cis, gay, white men who are detached from the lived realities of much of our community. The Delta Foundation’s Pittsburgh Pride’s decision to bring Iggy Azalea to headline is an indicator of this detachment. These uprisings were for the right of LGBTQIA+ peoples everywhere to have the right to live, love and be fully who we are. Today, trans and queer people of color are still fighting for the right to live, love and exist be fully who we are.

Pride was Political.
Pride is still Political.
Pride will always be Political.
Highlighted Scheduled Events:

June 11, 2015- Town Hall Meeting at Blakely Center from 6pm to 9pm
Concerned about LGBTQIA+ People of Color in Pittsburgh? Come and connect with other concerned community members, discuss the issues, and brainstorm solutions.

June 12, 2015- Intergenerational Paint Party! at Schenley Park from 6:30pm to sunset
Wear all white and participate in the best water balloon fight you’ve ever been in in your life! This will be a sober event.

June 13, 2015 ****SHUT IT DOWN PROTEST**** in Downtown Pittsburgh
Roots Pride Pgh Party! Come celebrate a Pride you can be proud of! (location: The Renaissance Hotel; main ballroom)

June 14, 2015- Healing Circle and Riverwalk. As a community, we will come together to invest in our emotional and psychic wellbeing.
Roots Pride is a commitment to honor these historic uprisings through solidarity and celebration, not assimilation.”