Pride 2020: Your guide to virtual events in June

Welcome to ?️‍?TNW Pride 2020!?️‍? All throughout June we’ll highlight articles that focus on representation for LGBTQPIA+ people in the STEM communities. Click here to check out all of our Pride 2020 coverage. 

Reports of Pride’s cancellation are greatly exaggerated. The annual celebration may not feature the parades and vivacious crowds it’s become known for, but it’s still here and it’s still queer. You’ll just have to attend most of the events online.

COVID-19 and civil unrest over the murder of George Floyd have taken Pride parades off the streets for the first time in its 50 year history. This is a bitter pill for the queer community. For many, Pride is the only place they’re allowed to be themselves.

But Pride is more than a celebration of queer culture. It also commemorates the Stonewall Riots, where hundreds of people stood up against injustice and police brutality.

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On June 28th, 1969 a group of queers and queens stood up to the state-perpetuated bigotry and violence of the New York Police Department. They rioted for six days. As a result, the laws surrounding entrapment and homosexuality were changed. After decades of police violence, queers had finally had enough.

8,000 people marched through the streets of New York City on June 28th, 1970 to commemorate the Stonewall Riots and let the US government know that queers would no longer be intimidated by corrupt, bigoted policing.

And while many things have changed, far too much remains the same as we prepare to celebrate Pride 50. US police have only gotten worse. The iconic photographs from the 1950s and 1960s featuring police loosing dogs on peaceful black protesters and using fire hoses for crowd control have been replaced by hundreds of videos showing thousands of police attacking and assaulting peaceful protesters with tear gas and rubber bullets.

These are not different struggles. Violence against black queers occurs at higher rates than other queer communities and trans black women are murdered at higher rates than nearly any other group. Black Lives Matter.

That’s why it’s more important now than ever to go forth with Pride. Black members of the LGBTQPIA+ community will still be black and queer when the protests end whether real police reform happens. And beyond that, both black and queer people face systemic discrimination that goes far beyond the immediate threat to survival represented by racist/bigoted law enforcement.

Pride, whether virtual or not, gives queer folk and our allies the opportunity to see each other and to feel seen. We need that now more than ever.

And that’s why we hope everyone, queer or straight, will join us in celebration and commemoration. For many queers, attending Pride has never been an option – whether due to disability or illness, geography, or not being out. So this year represents the first time that Pride is accessible for almost everyone.

Here’s a small smattering of free events from around the world available for everyone to attend virtually. We’ll update this list throughout the month as more information becomes available.

NYC Pride

The first Pride parade marched through the streets of New York, and NYC Pride is the result. This group will put on several events including:

• Criminal Queerness Festival 2020 (June 9 – 29)
• Pride 2020 Dragfest (June 19 – 21)
• The Virtual Rally (Friday June 26)

Check out the NYC Pride site for details.

Global Pride 2020

The organizers of EuroPride and hundreds of other Pride events around the world have put together a 24-hour global extravaganza of exciting performances, spoken word, and other events that will include some of the biggest names in show biz and world leaders including heads of states and royalty.

The festivities take place starting June 27, click here for details.

San Francisco Pride

SF Pride is holding an Online Celebration and Rally on June 27 and 28. You can get more details here.

San Diego Pride

Several online events sponsored by San Diego Pride, including a couple of virtual 5Ks and virtual bingo are planned through June. San Diego Pride is also hosting virtual youth workshops all summer long. Check out the SD Pride page here for details.

Boston Pride

Most of Boston’s online events have been canceled but the virtual Pride Lights event honoring the lives lost during the AIDs epidemic will still be held on June 9th, details here.

Pride Prom

Billboard – yes, the music one – and The Hollywood Reporter are hosting a Pride Prom featuring a smorgasbord of celebrities on 12 June. Check out this site for more information.

Stonewall Day

Pride Live and Warner Media are hosting Stonewall Day online. This event features numerous speakers, including a focus on black and brown voices, and focuses on fundraising for the queer community. Check out Pride Live’s Facebook page for more info.

Denver Pride

The city of Denver is holding several online events from June 19 thru 21 including:

• Queer the Census Variety Show (19 June)
• Denver Virtual Pride 5K (20 June)
• Coors Light Virtual Denver Pride Parade (21 June)

Check out Denver Pride’s Facebook Page here for details.

Brooklyn Pride

Brooklyn Pride will offer several virtual events on June 13, including a virtual 5K and its own virtual celebration. More information is available here.

Together for Pride

The Seattle Pride community, along with Gender Justice League and Pridefest, is putting on a virtual community celebration with several events:

• Trans Pride (June 26)
• Pride Fest (June 27)
• Seattle Pride (June 28)

Check out the Together for Pride page for details and schedules.

Dublin Digital Pride Festival and Parade

Ireland’s holding Pride events online all throughout the month of June. There’s too many interesting ones too list, so check out the full schedule here.

Toronto Pride

Joining several other events in Canada, Toronto Pride’s going virtual all month long. It’ll feature artists, bingo, drag shows, and even a tea party. Check out this press release for all the information.

Virtual Pride

The folks at Gay Travel are hosting a “virtual Pride” celebration on Twitter in cahoots with several Pride organisations. The festivities kick off on 28 June, more information here.

Work Pride

Mygwork is putting on a week long online conference from 22 thru 26 June. It’s focused on inclusivity in the work place, developing skills to succeed and networking resources to thrive, and helping the LGBTQPIA+ community through an economic period of uncertainty that disproportionately effects the many of us. For more information check out the WorkPride home page here

IRL

Okay, so IRL is an app not a Pride event. But IRL is highlighting Black Lives Matter and Pride events this month and, because it’s super simple to use on Android or iOS, we think it’s one of the best resources for finding Pride events. Best of all you can invite friends to join you on the social calendar and RSVP to events together.

Vice’s “Queers Built This” virtual Pride events

Vice is hosting a pair of hour-long events on the last two Wednesdays of the month. These events promise to be unlike anything else you’ll see during Pride month and both will benefit worthy causes.

• June 17 (6-7pm EST): Queer DIY Crash Course benefiting Black and Pink
• June 24 (4-5pm EST): How to Take Care of Each Other with Adrienne Maree Brown and Jenna Wortham benefiting the Ali Forney Center

For more info, check out the Queers Built This page here.

Keep in mind that this is a small list of the available global Pride events. We’ll update this list as necessary. Be sure to let us know if we missed anything (tristan@thenextweb.com)!