A variety of events have gone digital this year — and they’re joined by the marquee Global Pride livestream.
If you’re feeling conflicted about how to celebrate Pride this year, you’re hardly alone. Three months after the coronavirus pandemic turned the world on its head, America has been rocked by coast-to-coast protests inspired by George Floyd, whose death has led millions to cry out for an end to police brutality — and an end to police departments generally.
But Pride organizers have adapted (shoe box parade floats, anyone?), and with no shortage of virtual events, many of which have been reoriented to amplify black voices and concerns, it’s possible to be not just safe but supportive while still showing your pride.
Within weeks, the George Floyd demonstrations upended a Pride month that was already poised to be unlike any other. Although many planned events were called off in deference, others were reconfigured to put the focus on black L. G. B. T. Q. people.
In New York, a virtual drag fest scheduled to feature more than 100 drag queens was replaced with a three-day Black Queer Town Hall (June 19-21). The event, to be hosted by Peppermint, a transgender actress who starred in the Broadway jukebox musical “Head Over Heels,” and Bob the Drag Queen, a past winner of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” will feature round-table discussions on dismantling racism and white supremacy as well as performances by black New York City drag queens. (Keep in mind: Venmo tips are the new crinkly bills.) Marti Gould Cummings, a fixture of the city’s drag scene and a candidate for City Council, will help lead the festivities, which will also carve out time to pay tribute to black pioneers of the gay rights movement. All programming will be streamed on GLAAD’s and NYC Pride’s YouTube pages.
As its parent company, Condé Nast, faces a reckoning over its treatment of people of color, Them, the publisher’s fledgling publication dedicated to L. G. B. T. Q. style, culture, politics and issues, will host a virtual Pride event on June 22 called Out Now Live that is heavy on boldface names. Cynthia Nixon, Hayley Kiyoko, Zac Posen, Lee Daniels, Billy Eichner, Naomi Campbell, Elton John, Indya Moore, Judith Light and Tegan and Sara are all expected to appear in the event, which will include speeches, personal stories of L. G. B. T. Q. activism since the 1970s and performances by King Princess and Princess Nokia.
And with plenty of time to spend at home, there may be no better time to catch up on or revisit queer classics. This month New York Public Library branches will host online book discussions of titles including Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray” (June 17, 2 p.
