Oakland Black Pride Festival 2023 Approaches! Runs June 28 - July 2
5-Days of events, food, activities, and workshops define this uniquely Oakland Black Pride experience
OAKLAND, Calif., June 8, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Black Pride Festival 2023 will run from June 28th to July 2nd presented by Oakland Black Pride, a nonprofit organization. "Celebrate the Magic of We," is the theme that conveys we are truly our greatest gift. The third annual Black Pride Festival welcomes family, friends and allies to celebrate Oakland's LGBTQOC communities. It encompasses a joy-filled week of activities and the spirit of the Stonewall Uprising that ignited the modern LGBTQ+ liberation movement, as our guide.
Sponsors of Oakland Black Pride 2023 are Gilead Sciences, Square, and the City of Oakland. Partners include Kissel Uptown Hotel and GetSomeJoy Wellness Agency. For more information about corporate partnerships, please email [email protected].
"Oakland is a cultural melting pot with a rich history of resilience and revolution," said Olaywa K. Austin, founder and chief executive officer of Oakland Black Pride. "So, we curated a festival that embraces these elements with the brilliance and beauty of Oakland's LGBTQOC communities and allies," according to Austin who founded OBP in 2020, to empower and uplift Black LGBTQOC communities in the Oakland-Bay Area region.
Black Pride Festival 2023
The festival begins June 28th with Breaking Bread: A Benefit Dinner, a seven-course tasting menu presented by Chef Preeti Mistry (Juhu Beach Club + Top Chef Season 6). Breaking Bread spotlights culinary contributions of QPOC and gives the attendees a chance to sample cuisines and perspectives that are often overlooked. Buy tickets.
Oakland Black Pride festival events also include (festival schedule):
- ONLINE Pride Panels and Workshop, June 29th
- Queer Pub Crawl, June 30th
- Queer Expo, July 1st
- Queer Kickball Tournament, July 2nd
- Black Pride Brunch, July 2nd
- Closing event, "The Cookout", July 2nd
Stonewall Uprisings: The Very Essence of Pride
Remembering and honoring events and people in queer history that sparked activism and progress toward equality, is the foundation of planning the OPB festival, and the organization's year-round programs. Most notably is the Stonewall uprisings in the New York City, Greenwich Village neighborhood. Although the Stonewall Inn was one of the few establishments to welcome and employ LGBTQ+ people when homosexuality was illegal and stigmatized, LGBTQ+ patrons were routinely harassed, and subject to violence by police. On June 28, 1969 police raided the inn and attacked patrons including Marsha Johnson a trans Black woman and Sylvia Rivera a trans latina who were present. But, they fought back, inspiring other patrons to do the same. This led to six days of unrest which marked a turning point in the gay rights civil rights movement.
"We are honored to welcome back the Oakland Black Pride Festival for its third year," said Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao." The contribution of the Black queer community is immeasurable and we are delighted to support the efforts of an organization that has done so much to educate, empower, and celebrate some of the most vulnerable in our City."
About Oakland Black Pride: Oakland Black Pride is a nonprofit organization that devises solutions to shift the systems that make it difficult to service the needs of people within communities most directly impacted by systemic inequities with emphasis on low- and middle- income areas of Oakland, CA and the Regional Bay Area. It has three pillars of programming including the Springboard Program, the QTBIPOC Social Circle, and the Black Pride Festival. To learn more about the organization and its programs and services visit http://www.oaklandblackpride.org
Media Contact
Olaywa K. Austin, Oakland Black Pride, 1 5109674691, [email protected]
SOURCE Oakland Black Pride
Share this article