Since 2017, Athleisure Mag has been a media sponsor in partnering with NYC Pride. During June there are a number of events that take place that bring the LGBTQIA+ and city at large together to celebrate as well as to draw awareness and to highlight the talents, interests and passions of this community. We always enjoy Pride Island which is a fun musical festival that will be headlined this year by Christina Aguilera. There are other events that also take place in this calendar from The March, The Brunch, PrideFest and so much more.

We sat down with Executive Director Sandra Perez of Heritage of Pride, the parent organization of NYC Pride to find out about the roots of the organization, a quick history of Pride here in NY, events taking place next and how they are drawing awareness, celebrating, education and raising money for small businesses. In our JUN ISSUE #90, we will talk about the actual events that took place!

ATHLEISURE MAG: Before we delve into this year’s theme as well as events that are slated, can you give us some historical background on Pride in NY starting with The Stonewall Riots that took place in 1969?

SANDRA PEREZ: NYC Pride is an outgrowth of The Stonewall Riots. So the first organizers The Gay Liberation March that emerged from The Stonewall Riots, was a loose coalition of organizations that continued to really emerge from the activist perspective. They were focused on basic human rights, recognition within our community, but also really, Stonewall was about people being persecuted and that they didn’t exist publicly.

The cause feels very present. In the last few years and this year in particular. BY 1984, there was a decision made to formalize a pride organizer, we became and were named Heritage of Pride and we’ve been organizing the Pride March and all related events since then!

AM: Which is a huge job!

SP: Yes, we’ll be turning 40 next year! It is a big job.

AM: What is your role and what are the things that you do that are specific to the events for NYC Pride and then what do you do in terms of Heritage of Pride, year around?

SP: Oh my goodness, as Executive Director, it’s always funny because I say that I do everything and nothing, right? Because you have your finger in every little pot! But for the most part, I’m charged with overseeing our events, our fundraising efforts and our advocacy. For me, a big part of what I have been doing since I came onboard in Nov of 2021 so I’m not here 2 years yet, has really been working with the organization and learning. But also, reinforcing our activists’ groups. I think a big part of the story that never gets told about Pride is that so much of the work that we do goes on behind the scenes.

People will think, “oh a march just happened.” No, it didn’t just happen. We rely on 1,000’s and I mean literally 1,000’s of volunteers that help to pull off our events every year. They’re very committed and people come from great distances. They take off of work to volunteer because it is that important to people. I was just talking about this with a staff person, but they were like, “oh my gosh, we’re responsible to the community and making sure that everything goes well.” I was like, “yeah, welcome to Pride!”

AM: Absolutely!

What brought you to Pride and what made you want to work there and to be in the position that you’re in?

SP: I spent a lot of time in the not-for-profit sector. I had run a Latinx organization for many years, I’ve worked for the Ms. Foundation for Women as part of their fundraising and development teams. So for me, my goal has always been mission work. I feel very strongly about being connected to a mission that resonates with me personally. This is a job where I am able to bring every single aspect of myself to work.

AM: That’s great!

SP: Right? You don’t always get that! I can be the Bronx girl that I am, I can be a Lesbian, a Puerto Rican, an American, I can be all of those things. I can do that and be of service to a community that I am part of and I feel strongly about that.

AM: We love that this year’s theme is Strength in Solidarity. What does that mean and how are we going to see that throughout events that are offered this year?

SP: That’s so great! You know, one of the things that continually amazes me is that we open up our themes for nominations which are across the board. So this comes from volunteers, from the general public and this year we landed on Strength and Solidarity, because we felt that it captured the call to action that we need to issue this year. The way we’re seeing that and the way that we’re trying to live into that theme is really looking to bring in all segments and to speak to all segments of the LGBTQ community. There are a lot of differences within the community, but I think that the challenge that we are all facing is very clear. For me, being able to work hand in hand and to work across different organizations is really a big part of what we try to do.

So for example, in The March, you’ll see that we’re looking forward to it. It’s our signature event and in there, it highlights our community partners this year. So you will see organizations that are celebrating big anniversaries this year – PFLAG and The National LGBTQ Task Force. Lambda Legal is being honored as community heroes. We have people from every sector that we also lift up as Grand Marshalls. The Brown and Black trans community is also very prominently represented as our drag queens who are in the front lines now every single day. For us, it’s also challenging. For the floats for example, what we try to do there with corporate partners that have a float, we try to marry them to one of our community based groups that they can share that float and to really expand that opportunity to get people to be involved and represented in The March as well as not just a corporate partner.

AM: That’s amazing. We didn’t realize that.

SP: I know a lot is made of corporations that are involved in Pride events. I am very clear that we vet our partners. A number of them we have asked point blank - what are you doing in our community and how are you living into your DEAI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) at your institution. It’s just a really important moment for us to look at not just unity and solidarity within the community, but to also place and emphasis on allyship and what needs to show up for us at this point in time when so many of our rights are being attacked, violence is an ever present risk that we’re faced with, our volunteers are faced with as well as our staff. It’s a celebratory moment, but it’s also a somber one.

AM: I couldn’t agree more. When we first approached by your team back in 2017 to be media sponsors, people asked why we would want to participate. The first response was that I think it is important to be an ally. As Co-Founders, I’m Black, the other co-founder is a white man and we are a heterosexual couple. On various sets, our teams have had those who are part of the LGBTQIA+ community as well as we have covered those who are as well throughout our issues.

I have always felt that you should be a good ally and be able to share those stories within your pages as representation is important. It’s always been important to me as I want to be able to see myself when I'm out in the world. I've had very close friends that I knew of over the years whether it was being sent to conversion schools/therapies, having a hard time coming out to various people in their circle or simply just not being able to navigate their lives who committed suicide. For me, these were people that were my friends and even in the midst of their struggle there were such a rich fabric in terms of what they offered to the world and each time I always felt so sad that they felt that that was what they had to do and that there wasn’t enough that they could stay and either increase their circles or find community that they could navigate differently.

From those experiences, I have felt that it is always important to be an ally and to have representation reflected. I appreciate that your organization is looking to embrace and work with those that are in your community as well as outside of it. It’s also great to know that when you are with corporate partners which is necessary to put on a production of this nature, that you do create accountability and that you ensure that the benchmarks align with it being done in a way that works for what you need. I really appreciate that.

SP: Yeah, I think that in part and parcel of that, is really looking at engaging. We don’t just have sponsors, we call them partners. We call them partners for a very specific reason. We want to go beyond the exchange of a check. It’s about what are you doing to our community, what are you doing for our community, are you engaged in dialogue? How can we facilitate the dialogue and how can we educate you as to what kind of support our community needs.

I have one of our Co-Chairs, Sue Doster who always says, “we set the table so that people can sit down and have the discussions that need to be had." I say yes that’s what we do and that we go a step further by providing people with the opportunities to do better. For me, that's a real important part of what we need to be doing in the future.

AM: Who are the Grand Marshalls this year?

SP: I'm excited about this year's Grand Marshalls: Billy Porter (American Horror Story, Pose, 80 For Brady), Yasmin Benoit, AC Dumlao, Hope Giselle, and Randolfe "Randy" Wicker. We do have our Grand Marshalls, once again nominated by community members which is really great. I think that they reflect a lot of the community, they reflect the very best of advocates, and they reflect the very best champions that are out there and we look forward to having them take the spotlight and stepping off The March.

AM: For those that may not be able to be there in person, will you guys still have The March broadcast on WABC and will there be other ways to access this event if they miss the live airing?

SP: Yes! I’m very happy to say that we just renewed our partnership with WABC!

AM: Nice!

SP: So you can see us for the next 4 years on WABC!

AM: That’s fantastic!

SP: We’re really happy about that. The March is a live broadcast for 3 hours. You can also see it on ABC7NY.com, ABC News Live, and ABC7 New York's Connected TV apps on streaming platforms Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, and Roku. We love for people to know that they can watch this in person, live at home or at another time!

AM: Pride Island has always been one of my favorites! Our team enjoys going – we loved when we saw Madonna back in 2019 – such a great performance. People were losing their ever loving mind! Christina Aguilera just got named as the headliner this year and I love that you guys will hold this at Brooklyn Army Terminal. What can we look forward to in terms of this event?

SP: I mean, I think you can look forward to the great music that has become part of Pride Island and it originated as Dances on the Pier! When we first started way back when, the community had no place to dance because it was forbidden right (Editor’s Note: Dances on The Piers started in 1986). They threw whole parties on the pier and those have morphed into things like Pride Island and so many other events that happen that Fri. and Sat. So Pride Island, you can see a lot of activations, we have talent, we have a few surprises I’m sure and great fireworks which always is fun, we have food and Christina’s set! We’re very excited to have her onboard, she’s such a great champion for the community and I‘m just as excited as you are, let’s just put it that way!

AM: When I saw the release pop out, I was like, “what?!?”

SP: I did squeal as well! There’s no jadedness here! We get very excited over the talent that we have on stage for Pride Island. But equally at all of our events.

We have PrideFest which is our street fair that takes over downtown and that’s 3 stages going on there. We have Family Fest, we’re going to prominently feature members of our community on stage with lots of local talent because this is where they grow and we want this to be a showcase of our community as well as local talent as well. We’re doing Youth Pride this year again in Brooklyn which is an important event for us because we know how much pressure young people are under. We know that it is not a safe time for them. So to be able to partner with Target over many years and they have been the ones advocating for this being a totally free experience for young people to celebrate in safe spaces. That is going to be a fantastic event. I’m really proud that we do that.

AM: I love that when you’re looking at the different events, that you present, The Brunch this year has Black chefs from the LGBTQIA+ community or that TEAZE focuses on women – you create programming where you can really showcase representation so that people can step forward and see something that can interest them. Why is it so important to do that and it’s so complex because you only have so many days but you’re targeting so many demographics?

SP: Yeah we do, because our community is not a monolith. We come in every shape and color and our interests are varied. The event producers that we bring on every year are from the community and have a real commitment to lifting up different segments of our community and that’s what you see when you see The Brunch. We’re celebrating Juneteenth and understanding that historically Black and Brown folks have been marginalized not just in mainstream, but within our communities. So really lifting up that talent and really lifting up our partnerships and what we plan to do beyond The Brunch and beyond the month of June.

AM: How far in advance do you begin planning for the next upcoming Pride event because it feels like you would be working on this one as well as the next one already.

SP: Absolutely! One of my big commitments is to get us to a place where we are planning this 2 and 3 years in advance! Because that’s the time that we would really need to be able to realize the vision, right? One of the things that we’ve done this year that’s different is that we have lightened our calendar and we decided that there are certain events that we do usually in June that were not getting the attention that they merited. So for example, our Human Rights Conference, it will move to Oct. We feel that it will be a really great time to go from the lighter aspects of Pride and really dive into the issues that are facing the community. Not just the issues, but the people leading us and offering new answers. So we’re very pleased that we’re going to move and lean into what we call Pride 365, which means that we will be present in terms of having productions year around. So we’re looking at having a fuller calendar Oct. – Dec. that will allow us to do our Human Rights Conference. We have moved our Family Movie Night and are looking at making it a monthly. It’s really about targeting families and children so that they can participate in a safe theater experience with other parents because I think that that is important to be able to build up that community. Parents who have children that are from that community are also important as well.

AM: It’s great that you looked at what you have done over past Pride months and were able to segment what made sense to stay in that period as well as looking at the longer view by seeing how you can create a fuller schedule that takes place throughout the year. It allows for those that are looking at what you do to understand that these are ongoing initiatives and are not designated for June only. Once again for those that are allies, that we shouldn’t be rallying around June but there are everyday efforts that can be done and are available.

SP: It is an everyday effort and we realize that we need to be banging that drum. We have a very unique space within the LGBTQ ecosystem, but organizations are year around. It doesn’t matter the size, we’re one of the largest Pride organizations, but I’m thinking of rural communities that are trying to put together their first Pride, most of these things come from people who want to create a safe space and our programming allows them to do that if they can leverage our work in service of their community, that really is the goal there. To teach that voice and to keep that platform open for the people that we serve.

AM: Are there organizations or charities that a portion of the proceeds of the sales of tickets/admission go to support?

SP: Actually, we’re very proud of our Pride Gives Back Program! It is a grant program wherein we award upwards of $100,000 a year to a variety of different groups that can apply to a grant program. This year, I think that we’re just sending out the award letters. There may be 15 groups in our cohort and they range from very very small organizations to large organizations who are looking for either support to stabilize. I think that what I love about the Pride Gives Back Program is that it really speaks to the organizations that are at the absolute grassroots. They’re not necessarily being funded yet and we get to find them, fund them, and incubate them. We have some of our grantees who use our space to carry out their events. We really do try to support their work with publicity as well as resources as well as staff time. We want them to succeed, we want them to feel that they are part of our organization.

We’re doing that and we’re also expanding our partnership that we have with Mastercard which will allow us to pilot a grant program for small businesses. We’ll be making announcements for that, later on this month.

AM: We were talking a bit about volunteers earlier, is there still an opportunity for people to be able to apply to be involved in this year’s events?

SP: Absolutely! We are always looking for volunteers. This is the time of year where we sign people up and we make it really easy. All they have to do is to visit our volunteer page and what we do there is provide information to come to meetings and our training. Our volunteers can be hybrid. You can be a day of volunteer and you’ll get some training. We have very experienced volunteer captains and there is always time to hop on board this train!

IG @nycpride

PHOTOS COURTESY | NYC Pride

Read the MAY ISSUE #89 of Athleisure Mag and see STRENGTH IN SOLIDARITY | NYC Pride in mag.

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