Black Lives Matter, Pride and protest: Activists, police and community veterans react

Black Lives Matter Toronto halted last weekend's Pride parade, sayingthe organization "has shown little honour to black queer/transcommunities, and other marginalized communities."

Mathieu Chantelois, Pride Toronto's executive director, signed a list of the group's demands,and the parade resumed soon after.

Controversy about the protest, however, wages on.

From a gay police officerwho issued an open letter toBlack Lives Matterto one of the parade's original organizers, activists, thinkersand community veterans are responding this way.

'Firmly rooted in a tradition of protest'

We were, for the first time in many years, proud to be queer at the gay parade.- Agroup of black LGBTactivists and scholars

Black Lives Matter did not hold the Pride parade hostage, writes a collective of blackLGBTactivists, scholars and community leaders. The group was actingin the true spirit of Pride, and its protest was a necessary counter to the commercial "dance party" the paradehas become.

READ IN FULL:Pride has always been political

'Exclusion does not promote inclusion'

Police officers are significantly represented in the LGBTQ community and it would be unacceptable to alienate and discriminate against them.-Const.Chuck Krangle, Toronto Police Force

One of Black Lives Matter Toronto's demands called for the "removal of all police floats [and] booths."

The next day,oneofficer wrote an open letter to Pride Torontoin response the organizationacceptingthat term.

Pride Toronto has since saidit "never agreed"to exclude police from future events, andthe issue will be discussed at upcoming community meetings.

READ IN FULL:'Exclusion does not promote inclusion'

'My Pride is political,and it includes Black Lives Matters'

Black Lives Matter carried with it the spirit of Stonewall and the activist roots of Pride not Pride as it now, defined by corporations, by mainstream political parties, bythe police.- Gary Kinsman, original Pride co-organizer

Pride has its roots in activism and protesting injustice, writes one of its original organizers. The controversy surrounding Black Lives Matter Toronto's involvement with Pride, GaryKinsmanargues, needs to be understood in light of that history, and as a continuation of that tradition.

READ IN FULL: Black Lives Matters recaptures Pride's activists roots