This year's Entertainment Chair weighs in on diversity, commercialism, and Noho Pride.
Holyoke residents Cynthia Roberts, left, and Deborah Penzias attend an anti-hate crime rally outside the Unitarian Society Building in Northampton on Tuesday, May 16, 2000. The rally was held in response to arsonists who on May 6, 2000 torched a banner hung on the Unitarian Building supporting gays and lesbians before the Pride 2000 march.The Republican's Fred Contrada reports that a group calling itself Queer Insurgency is raising concerns that Northampton's annual Pride Parade and Rally has forgotten its political roots and that its organizing body lacks diversity. Gerry Scoppettuolo, a gay man who helped organize the first Northampton march in 1982, offered the following comment:
"It’s gotten extremely conservative. There’s no political messaging. It’s a virtually all white enterprise. I find it a radical departure from what Pride is supposed to be."
Interestingly, Scoppettuolo registered similar concerns in 2001, in advance of the parade's 20th anniversary. At the time, The Republican's Patrick Johnson wrote:
Another parade co-founder, Gerry Scoppettuolo, said the event needs to keep its political focus.
"It's become normal, mainstream," said Scoppettuolo, the director for education services for the Southern New Hampshire HIV/AIDS Task Force. "But we are still an oppressed class."
Contrada's article prompted the following response from J.C. Ortiz Calcaño, who self-identified as the Entertainment Chair for the 2011 event (Ed. note: Paragraph breaks have been added; otherwise, the comment is reprinted here exactly as written):
As the only "Black"/"Person of Color" and most senior member in the new Noho Pride organization, i find alot of this so-called feedback regarding "commercialism" and lack of "political" focus unfounded and outright hilarious.
The aim of Noho Pride has always been to support and raise awareness of the the LGBTI community via speakers and showcasing LGBTI talent (both local and from outside state borders). I also find it comical to receive feedback from persons who are primarily "not of color" criticizing the lineup that I have worked hard to put together and strived hard to achieve as much diversity and representation of the LGBTI community.
Since my taking over as Chair of Entertainment, Noho Pride has offered the most diversive entertainment and political speaker line-ups within its 30-year history. This year's line-up include the first transgender artist and 2nd deaf/American Sign Language performer to headline a Noho Pride event. Last year's line-up included the first straight/heterosexual ally as a headliner.
Diversity and inclusivity goes far beyond inclusion of "token" persons of color or representatives of minority groups within the LGBTI community.... Had persons offering "feedback" been involved in the planning process and sought to obtain information from the persons involved in planning, they would have known that Noho Pride DID have people of color included within the lineup of performers/speakers, and that for unfortunate reasons those persons were not able to meet their committment.
As I touched on before, I believe the so-called "protest"/counter rally arranged by the persons mentioned in the above article is both divisive and unfounded. I believe people should spend less time and energy criticizing an event that was meant to bring together our community, and spend more time offering help/support for change and awareness...
That's my two cents... Should anyone be interested in being involved in the planning process for next year's event, they may visit www.nohopride.org or contact info@nohopride.org. Person's interested in performing or speaking at next year's event may contact the chair of entertainment in the fall via entertainment@nohopride.org.
In Pride and with respect,
J.C. Ortiz Calcaño (Entertainment Chair, Noho Pride'11)