The Louisville Pride Foundation raised $50,000 for the Bail Project and announced a new Social Justice Fund during Saturday’s “Queen’s in Quarantine.” Keep reading, or download this report as a PDF

Statement on Breonna Taylor and Police Protests

Louisville Pride is not a political advocacy organization, but we are responding to the crisis in our community that has come about through years and years of systemic racism. Our official statement can be read here.

Fundraising to support racial justice

We are pleased to report that our community came together, and we raised over $50,000 for The Bail Project in less than a week. Our Executive Committee has decided to build on this success by creating a permanent Social Justice Fund.

LGBTQ Community Response

At the outset of COVID-19, we joined with the Fairness Campaign to organize the Louisville LGBTQ COVID-19 Response Call. This is a weekly conference call of social service agencies, LGBTQ groups, Employee Resource Groups, and mutual aid networks to exchange information and try to match available volunteers where they are needed.

We are shifting this to be a more general “crisis response” call, so it can serve as a framework for how the LGBTQ community responds to issues of racism and police violence. This call will continue even after the crisis is over, because we believe there is a need for better coordination within the Louisville LGBTQ community.

We are also working with the Fairness Campaign and Ban Conversion Therapy Kentucky to coordinate with other LGBTQ groups on a community response.

Queens in Quarantine

Following the success of The UAW Local 862 Virtual Drag Show, we have now launched The Republic Bank “Queens in Quarantine” Variety Show. This weekly show is hosted by Syimone and Leah Halston, and features more comedy and interaction.

The first episode was on May 29, just as the police protests were escalating. We began the show with a panel discussion featuring several of our Board members, and led by Syimone. We were proud to be able to deliver at that moment. The conversation was important, but we also know that even in times of trauma, people need a release. We were able to address the issues at hand, but also give people one hour of relief. We have planned for this series to raise money for a group of LGBTQ organizations, but we may shift the focus to anti-racism work.

Community Conversations

Community Conversations is a twice-a-week series hosted by Louisville Pride Executive Director Mike Slaton. The series is premiered on Facebook and then uploaded to YouTube and as a podcast on iTunes, Spotify, and other platforms. The series began with a focus on COVID-19, and has expanded to a broader range of topics. the LGBTQ Community, and more. Current episodes are focusing on race and racism. We will begin including a Virtual Vendor segment soon, introducing viewers to vendors that they could normally meet at the Pride Festival.

Wellness Wednesday

Wellness Wednesday began an in-person event at Beechmont Community Center, and we have now hosted several digital sessions. Some have been more private, and some have been live-streamed. Topics have included self-compassion, mindfulness, and legal well-being.

Queer Game Night

Queer Game Night was one of several programs that had JUST started when they had to be canceled. Around 35 people attended our first game night at Beechmont Community Center, and we were all excited to see it continue! We have moved the format online with a Trivia Night, and are exploring other ways to have interactive games. Unfortunately, we did fall victim to a brief “Zoom-bombing” during the Trivia Night, but the team running the show responded instantly, and the night continued with a few adjustments.

Business Listings

We have been developing an online searchable database for our website to serve as a source for information on LGBTQ-owned and LGBTQ-friendly businesses, as well as non-profit service providers. We are also going to focus on highlighting minority-owned businesses. We plan to roll this out by the end of June.

Community Center

Following several months of one-on-one interviews with stakeholders, research, and small meetings, we are ready to present a plan for community review and feedback. As soon as it is appropriate to do so, we will begin the public phase of this planning process. This will then be followed by the launch of a capital campaign and a site selection process.

Blog

We’re tinkering with our website, and we have added a blog, which will feature news, LGBTQ history, vendor profiles, and more. This is part of our effort to continue to engage people in as many ways as possible.