About two dozen people gathered Tuesday evening in Charlotte's South End for a community conversation ahead of Charlotte Pride, reflecting on the movement's history, current challenges and continued growth.
The event, titled "Pride Is a Protest Then and Now," explored the evolution of Charlotte Pride, which began in 1981 near the UNC Charlotte area and has since grown into one of the city's largest annual celebrations.
Bob Williamson, 71, said he came to Tuesday’s event to learn more about the history of Pride and to show support for the LGBTQ+ community.
"I consider myself an open person,” Williamson said. “And I want to be supportive of the gay community. I have a gay daughter and a gay brother."
The event was hosted by the Levine Museum of the New South, at its new building on South Boulevard.
Charlotte resident Dawn Schmitz said she was pleased with the topics that were discussed.
"The Levine Museum throws great events," Schmitz said. "[And] I'm really interested in community history, including LGBTQ history."
The "Pride Is a Protest Then and Now" event spotlighted some of the challenges the Pride movement in Charlotte has faced, including a decline in corporate support in recent years.
Jermaine Nakia Lee, a founder of Charlotte Black Pride, said they had to scale back their pride events due to a decline in support.
"About 30 to 40% of our funding was just eliminated once it became the government's mission to degrade DEI,” Lee said. “That kind of permeated into the corporate sector, which is where we get a lot of our funding."
Lee said the funding losses revealed that some corporate commitments to LGBTQ+ organizations may not have been deeply rooted in the movement.
"Their giving was never sincere," Lee said. "The giving obviously, at the time, was just in vogue — and what they thought maybe their consumers would appreciate. But it wasn't a real interest in the value of the community. So, you know, we feel devalued.
“But as is the case when these things happen, the community steps up."
Lee said community support and donations have helped Charlotte Black Pride continue its annual celebrations.
Organizers expect hundreds of thousands of people to attend Charlotte Pride this year.
