Statement on our invitation to participate as Pride Parade Ambassadors as “Queers for a Free Palestine Coalition”
July 16, 2024
Pride is a protest - Stonewall was an Intifada
In June, community groups representing queer Palestinians and anti-zionist Jews were invited to participate as Halifax Pride Ambassadors as a coalition of queer groups in solidarity with Palestinian liberation.
We took time to reflect on this invitation. We do not want to be just a symbol for Halifax Pride without meaningful action.
Issues around pinkwashing at Halifax Pride were raised in 2016 by Queer Arabs Halifax and other community members several times. Pinkwashing refers to when a state or organization appeals to LGBTQ+ rights in order to deflect attention from its harmful practices (Decolonizing Palestine, Pinkwashing).
We are disappointed with the lack of action in the 8 years since, as well as the lack of meaningful action by Halifax Pride Society to repair the relationship with Queer Arabs Halifax.
We are also disappointed with the lack of COVID-accessibility considerations. COVID-19 is an ongoing threat that disproportionately harms 2SLGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities.
We appreciate the steps that Halifax Pride has taken after receiving community feedback by ending their partnership with Deloitte, making a commitment to address pinkwashing, taking the first steps to be more financially transparent, and adding a mask required viewing area at our request.
We have also been informed that the Halifax Pride Board has committed to a tiered divestment approach from TD Bank, with full divestment by 2026. Although we are pleased by this news, we are disappointed that it took this long.
All together, this is not enough for us to go ahead with being Pride Ambassadors and we have declined the invitation. We do not believe that Halifax Pride aligns with our values.
We will not “celebrate" with corporations and institutions that profit off of genocide and environmental destruction, in Mi’kma’ki, Palestine, the Congo, or anywhere in the world.
Politicians who support a genocide abroad and oppose affordable housing at home - while they are landlords who profit off of the housing crisis - are not our allies.
Nor are institutions and politicians that take away our access to safer healthcare, testing, and affordable treatment during an ongoing pandemic.
We call on Halifax Pride to make the following commitments:
1) Follow through on the commitment to end their partnership with TD Bank as soon as possible. TD invests in weapons manufacturers, Elbit Systems and General Dynamics, who profit off of the destruction of Palestine. TD also invested over $20 billion US dollars in fossil fuel extraction in 2023 alone (Banking on Climate Chaos, 2024).
2) Create a pinkwashing policy that is comprehensive and looks at all harms - not just issues that are currently "trending". Making a rainbow logo, paying Pride Boards and participating in parades doesn’t erase harm and destruction caused in our community and abroad.
3) Increase their transparency by disclosing a full list of parade participants, as well as a complete and detailed breakdown of how much money comes from each entity Halifax Pride receives funds from (including parade fees), and an equally detailed breakdown of expenses.
4) Disinvite complicit politicians, political parties, and institutions from the parade. Such as the universities that have not met the student encampment demands and Mayoral Candidate Andy Fillmore, who accepted a sponsored trip worth over $10,000 from a zionist lobbying group to Israel in 2016 (Office of the Conflict and Ethics Commissioner, 2016).
5) Disinvite Nova Scotia Health, due to their decision to remove mask-requirements from hospitals and reduce access to testing as COVID-19 cases began to surge again.
6) Commit to hosting mask-required events as part of Pride, and providing community education about COVID-19.
To support Halifax Pride in being able to divest, Chaverim Inclusive Jewish Community has returned the $500 received from Halifax Pride to host our pride events. Queer Arabs Halifax did not apply for funding from the Halifax Pride Society.
In 2023, we saw the community come together and run many incredible grassroots pride events without corporate funding or support from the Halifax Pride Society. We know that we can go back to the roots of pride, and have it continue to thrive without corporations.
We also acknowledge that we are not the first community members to question the politics of Halifax Pride and really appreciate the work folks have already done in this area. Please check out Aaliyah Paris (@aaliyahxparis), Amanda (@amanda1.3.1.2) and @transqueermarchhfx to learn more about pinkwashing and Halifax Pride.