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Due to the recent protests and the violent murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and so many others, Ark Valley Pride has canceled Pride 2020. The team decided it would be inappropriate to celebrate. All Ark Valley Pride (AVP) events are canceled except for the 2020 Ark Valley Equality Network Pride awards at 3 p.m. on June 6.

“This is not the time to celebrate, but to stand in solidarity with the millions of peaceful protesters around the world,” read a statement from AVP.

This is a rebooted pride flag by Daniel Quasar. This reboot is meant to be inclusive of queer people of color and trans people. Courtesy of Bloomington Pride’s website.

AVP encourages the community to find peaceful ways to protest and support the Black Lives Matter movement. AVP asks that you send pictures or tag #arkvalleypride with your peaceful protest involvement.

AVP stated “this is a great opportunity to have honest conversations about inclusivity, empathy and kindness. We hope you will join us as we will be honoring leadership, courage and allyship* in the Upper Arkansas River valley.”

An organizer of the Ark Valley Pride team, Jimmy Sellars told Ark Valley Voice “Among the threads that create the fabric of LGBTQ+ culture, is Black and African American culture. The literal first punches of the modern gay rights movement were thrown by proud trans women of color. Gay rights are Black Rights are Human Rights.”

“COVID-19 was the proverbial wrench thrown into the modern society machine. The pieces that were barely functioning and ready to break now will not just start back up. We have to fix them first and this is an incredible opportunity to do so. I have faith in our community and the many communities we work in.
“The overwhelming majority have just been waiting for us all to come together in a unified voice to end the systemic racism that has plagued our society for centuries,” Sellars went onto say. “That absolutely includes the violent injustices of Black and African American LGBTQ+ people, especially black transgender women. We are not free until we are all free.”

The Ark Valley Equality Network and the Partnership for Community Action say they will take every opportunity to continue the conversations surrounding systemic racism and how to end it in America, beginning in Chaffee County.

AVP added “we know this sounds like a big goal, but our good friend reminded us today of a great proverb from India: how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”

Editor’s note: *Allyship is a term that is worthy of reflection, especially in these times: “Allyship is the continuous process in which someone with privilege and power seeks to first learn about the experiences of a marginalized group of people, and then ultimately empathize with their challenges and build relationships with that group of people.”