Seattle Black Pride Calls It Quits

Seattle Black Pride retroactively closed up shop on Sunday calling the dissolution "bitter sweet". The Northwest organization brought LGBT Black folks together for one of the most anticipated events on the West Coast. Seattle Black Pride has also canceled their Pride 2008 event - scheduled on the weekend of July 18-20. The organization's board blamed a lack of leadership and basic exhaustion for halting all operations stating, “The commitment of providing leadership to an organization such as [Seattle Black Pride] was more than what people were able to commit to for various reasons. For the past several months the organization has operated with three Board members and as you can imagine, the demand has been overwhelming."

Seattle Black Pride, a partner with the Human Rights Campaign, not only organized the Black Pride summer event, but also was responsible for much of Seattle's city scene by managing and promoting events such as drag performances, the annual New Year's Eve party, and providing HIV/AIDS Prevention services. "We have had the opportunity to provide space for individuals to connect and form support systems for one another," says Seattle Black Pride president Kiantha Duncan.

It is sad to see them go. I can only hope another organization will step up and fill the void SBP has left. In true dramatic fashion, SBP’s famous last words were, “Together we gave voice and visibility to our Black GLBT community in a way that cannot be forgotten.”

FYI: Seattle Black Pride 2008 would have been the city's 4th annual Black Pride event.