View PDF Copy of Release Recently, Pride Community Center (PCC) and a host of other local LGBTQ+ organizations were asked for wisdom and input regarding a celebratory event in downtown Bryan during First Friday. All LGBTQ+ groups present raised concern over police involvement in any events. The organizers that sought out our guidance decided to proceed despite the concerns raised and removed LGBTQ+ organizations from the planning process. We are concerned as an organization with the breakdown of communication and lack of involvement of the community that the event was intended to serve.
PCC honors the conflicts that gave rise to the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement at both Compton’s Cafeteria (1966) and the Stonewall Uprising (1969) that involved queer and trans people of color being harassed, incarcerated, and abused by law enforcement. We as a society need to listen to voices, such as those from our queer and trans people of color (QTPOC), that have gone unheard for so long. QTPOC remain some of the most marginalized within our community and the most impacted by the discrimination, harassment, and violence that continues today. PCC stands for honoring Pride through having the difficult conversation of law enforcement involvement in Pride activities. Pride Community Center does not endorse the “Come Out in Bryan” event sponsored by I Heart Bryan at First Friday on June 4, 2021. We look forward to future conversations in our community, with I Heart Bryan, and others in regard to the history and the concerns involved with police presence at Pride events. Pride Community Center, Inc. is committed to justice, respect, inclusion, and safety. Moving forward, collaboration is essential for the betterment of our community.
In solidarity,
Pride Community Center, Inc.
Katrina Dawn Stewart Executive Director operations@pridecc.org
jay skye, M.S. (they/them)
Board President
About Pride Community Center, Inc.
Pride Community Center (PCC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization recognized by the IRS. The organization was founded in 2010. The primary mission is to provide a safe place for persons of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions, their families and friends, to meet and socialize without having to worry about who they are. During this current crisis with COVID-19, Pride Community Center has provided timely information to the LGBTQ+ community from local sources as well as pertinent information from reputable and reliable health care sources. In addtion, our regular programmatic initiatives have moved to an online modality even as we partner with other local organizations to keep people interacting in fun and new ways that follow CDC and safe distance guidelines