I am embarrassed for my hometown. The Portland Pride Parade was this past weekend. It didn't go well.
This is how the event was promoted:
Oregon Governor Kate Brown, who is openly bisexual was there...the first time a sitting Oregon Governor had taken part in the parade. That was accompanied with all attendant pomp and circumstance. Celebrity Grand Marshall Jason Dottley failed to show up...we do not know why...or who he is. Trans activist Mia Macy was to take part as well. Winner of the 2015 Spirit Award, Macy showed up along with her wife...and nobody knew who they were.
There was no car for them to ride in, no identifying signage in the event they even located a car...no identifying devise of any kind. Eventually event sponsor Macy's came up with a car for Mia and her wife to ride in...with people who did not know who they were...at the trail end of the parade.
End of the line? Seems fitting when one thinks about it. That's about where we stand politicly as well.
Video inside.
Eventually, Portland Pride issued a statement:
Pride Northwest chose to honor Mia Macy for her work in securing legal rights and protections for the Transgender community, nationwide. Her work deserves recognition and honor. And we, at Pride Northwest, failed her this weekend.
Since yesterday, a formal apology has been sent to Mia and we have actively begun addressing the circumstances and factors that led up to that failure. We have been reaching out, and will continue to reach out, to the Transgender community, particularly the Trans women's community, in order to set a course for ensuring that we-as an organization-consistently act in a way that honors, supports, and celebrates the community, and does not harm it.
The board and staff of Pride Northwest is fully committed to doing the work necessary (and more) to ensure that we are a Pride organization worthy of the entire LGBTQ and gender-nonconforming spectrum.
Thank you and if you have any questions, comments, or feedback, please email president@pridenw.org.
Debra Porta
President
Pride Northwest, Inc.