Black Pride St. Louis sincerely regrets to inform that, due to an incident resulting in the festival’s closure, all scheduled weekend activities have been canceled.
Retraction: If you read the now-deleted story about a great weekend festival, while praising inclusion and diversity within the St. Louis community and Black Pride.
I must inform you that I will remove that article. Additionally, I want to share a statement just received from the organizers.
And here is the official statement from the Black Pride Officials.
Black Pride St. Louis extends our sincere apologies to our community, partners, sponsors, guests, and supporters for the abrupt cancellation of the remaining events scheduled for this weekend.
Our Black Pride weekend began on a high note with an incredible comedy show headlined by the hilarious Jenelle Banks, followed by an empowering Advocacy Day at St. Louis City Hall. These events reflected what Black Pride St. Louis is about at its core: creating spaces where our community can experience joy, build connections, advocate for change, and celebrate who we are.
Unfortunately, following the Bad Boys vs. Baddies event, altercations occurred in the parking lot of the host hotel. During the incident, bear spray was discharged, resulting in a hotel employee requiring medical attention and being transported to the hospital.
As a result of the incident and the associated safety and legal liability concerns, the hotel made the decision to cancel the remainder of the weekend’s events at the property. While this decision was outside of Black Pride St. Louis’ control, we recognize the disappointment, frustration, and inconvenience this abrupt cancellation has caused for those who planned, traveled, volunteered, performed, and purchased tickets to celebrate with us.
We also want to be unequivocal: the actions of a few do not define our community, nor will they derail our mission.
Black Pride St. Louis remains committed to providing safe, affirming, and empowering spaces for Black LGBTQIA+ people and our allies. The safety of our attendees, volunteers, performers, partners, and venue staff must remain a priority at every event bearing our name.
Our mission to Engage. Educate. Empower. continues.
We ask our community to extend compassion to the hotel employee affected by this incident, and we wish them a full and speedy recovery.
To everyone who showed up, supported our programming, celebrated with us, advocated alongside us, and continues to believe in the work of Black Pride St. Louis: thank you.
This weekend may have ended differently than we planned, but our work does not end here.
We are still here. We are still committed. And we will continue to Engage, Educate, and Empower our community.
Black Pride St. Louis
Engage. Educate. Empower.
P.O. Box 300286 • St. Louis, MO 63130 • 314.884.8730 • info@blackpridestl.org (Donations are welcomed)
Jordan.Braxton@blackpridestl.org
About St. Louis Black Pride:
Welcome to Black Pride St. Louis! We are a vibrant and inclusive organization dedicated to celebrating and supporting the Black LGBTQ+ community in St. Louis and beyond. Our mission is to foster a sense of unity, pride, and empowerment among our members while advocating for equality and social justice.
In conclusion, I am optimistic that this group of innovative minds will come together, find ways to lift the anchor.
#BlackPrideStLouis #CommunityUnity #BlackExcellence #StLouisEvents #CelebrateBlackCulture #Resilience #CommunityStrong
Senior Editor, Digital Manager, Blogger, has been nominated for awards several times as Publisher and Author over the years. Has been with company for almost three years and is a current native St. Louisan.
