From Left to right 3 HOP reps, 4 officers, Matthew McMorrow from Mayor's office

GOAL President Brian Downey
GOAL President Brian Downey

Tension filled the air at a recent townhall meeting organized by Heritage of Pride, The Mayors Office and the New York Police Department after months of lobbying by a grassroots LGBTQ organization called Reclaim Pride (http://reclaimpridenyc.org/). Chief among the issues on the part of community members was the large police and corporate presence at the annual LGBTQ march. Also the parade route, is dramatically different than previous marches. Members of contingents of groups are limited in number in contrast to previous years and identifying wrist bands are to be required. The townhall with 120 community members ended without the police, mayor’s representative or HOP making any concessions. This years NY march will be a trial run for the plans made by the police, mayor’s representative and Heritage of Pride. It seems likely LGBT activist concerns will continue to grow and be a major issue in the 50th anniversary commemoration of the Stonewall Riot next year. The question then will be,  will Pride continue to be coopted? John Riley reports.

 

Click on green arrow to download, or stream with arrow key. If no tracks appear, activate your Flash. On firefox do the following. Look here for details or questions.

MORE FILES (THE ENTIRE SHOW) WILL BE POSTED 6/13 .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Naomi Brussel interviews Reclaim Pride chair Natalie James who gives us an update on the outcome of the recent Reclaim Pride meeting later that week, including the call for resistance to the wearing of the wristband which may cause a confrontation with Heritage of Pride. They will demand to enter the staging area without the wrist band.