An LGBT Pride event in Seattle, Taking B(l)ack Pride, is planning to charge white attendees a “$10 to $50 reparations fee” in order to “keep [the] event free of cost for [the] black and brown trans and queer community.”
When two other Pride event organizers — Charlette LeFevre and Philip Lipson — raised concerns about the “reparations fee” in a letter to the Seattle Human Rights Commission, the group bullied the pair and made clear it has no intention of reversing the charge associated with attendees’ ethnicities.
“It has come to our attention that an event called ‘Take B(l)ack Pride’ at the Jimi Hendrix public park June 26 is charging whites only admission as reparations,” they wrote in a joint letter, asking the city to review the discriminatory policy. “We consider this reverse discrimination in its worse [sic] form and we feel we are being attacked for not supporting due to disparaging and hostile emails.”
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LeFevre and Lipson, who banned gay and straight police officers from attending their previous Pride event, went on to write they would “never charge admission over the color of a person’s skin and we resent being attacked for standing in those values.”
On its Facebook page, the Taking B(l)ack Pride organizers described the event as “black and brown queer trans centered, prioritized,” adding that “white allies and accomplices are welcome to attend but will be charged a $10 to $50 reparations fee that will be used to keep this event free of cost for black and brown trans and queer community.”
The SHRC responded to the pair’s concerns by publicly shaming them and sharing their contact information on social media.
In its response, the organization encouraged LeFevre and Lipson to “educate” themselves “on the harm it may cause Seattle’s BIPOC community” for them to pursue free tickets to the event, even though they are white.
“We would like to urge you to examine the very real social dynamics and ramifications of this issue,” the response from the SHRC read. “Black trans and queer peoples are among the most marginalized and persecuted peoples within the LGBTQIA2S+ community.”
“They often face shame not only from the cis-heteronormative community, but within the queer community at large as well,” it continued. “In making the event free for the black queer community, the organizers of this event are extending a courtesy so rarely extended; by providing a free and safe space to express joy, share story, and be in community.”
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The organizers of the Taking B(l)ack Pride event rebuked LeFevre and Lipson’s organization, Capitol Hill Pride, for its opposition to tethering the cost of a ticket to the color of one’s skin.
In a statement, the Taking B(l)ack Pride organizers said their “allies, supporters, and accomplices pay our sliding scale donation ‘reparations’ because they are able to understand that, as folks with privilege, equity can start with making sure that people who possess various levels of marginalization are able to have spaces that center their needs, safety, identities and contributions to LGBTQI culture.”
“We ask our white supporters, allies, and accomplices to deeply consider their privilege and make a contribution that feels equitable for them (they often choose to pay more than what is asked, or volunteer with the event),” the statement continued.
The group went on to claim that LeFevre and Lipson created “unsafe and potentially life threatening convictions for black and brown LGBTQI folks” by raising their concerns.
“It is appalling and scary for Charlette LaFevre to not recognize the repercussions or consequences of her actions against the black and brown LGBTQI community just one year after the death of George Floyd, and the social unrest that occurred afterwards around the country and in Seattle,” the Taking B(l)ack Pride group wrote, concluding its statement by urging “vendors, performers, and candidates to boycott Capitol Hill Pride and not support any event that would contribute to white supremacist violence against black and brown LGBTQIA folks.”
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After all the shaming and bullying, the pair decided to apologize for questioning the reparations fee for white attendees.
“We sincerely want to elevate the segment of the LGBTQ community, especially of black transgender women, recognize the important history and contributions and support this segment of the hidden rainbow,” LaFevre and Lipson wrote on Facebook. “At this time, we have requested an invitation of a meeting of hosting parties to resolve any issues and find common ground.”