Minneapolis People’s Pride Offers different Experience For Pride Celebrations

Minneapolis People’s Pride Offers different Experience For Pride Celebrations

Twin Cities Pride held at Loring park faces controversy after people express upset over its association with Target and other big corporations.

Held in Powderhorn Park, Minneapolis’ People’s Pride offers a more affordable and smaller-scale pride celebration.

Founded in 2021, People’s Pride is an alternative to Twin Cities Pride as it strives to disconnect from big corporations. This year, the event, held on Saturday, featured up to 100 booths and thousands of attendees.

Local businesses, artists, community organizations came together at Powderhorn Park to support queer people and each other.

“It’s nice to engage with the community outside of it being facilitated by corporations,” Dian Castro, an attendee of the People’s Pride, said.

Luke Mars, a volunteer for People’s Pride on Saturday, said he lends support to this festival because of their local roots and continued support for the LGBTQ+ community.

“I know if I’m buying something it goes directly to a local queer person instead of a mega corporation. People’s Pride returns Pride’s roots as a protest and the ways many institutions have turned their backs on the LGBTQ+ community,” said Mars.

Leo Rodriguez, who attended People’s Pride, said they felt the booths at Twin Cities Pride represented more large corporations, such as banks. Rodriguez added they felt some of these booths do not align with the queer community’s values.

“At People’s Pride, everything was geared towards serving the community and building activist consciousness,” said Rodriguez.

Instead of relying on corporate sponsors to fund the event, People’s Pride used GoFundMe to support the costs of the event.

“Corporate greed has no place in the queer community,” People’s Pride said on their website.

Those who attended People’s Pride were still upset with Twin Cities Pride as they feel it mostly showcases big corporations and has less focus on supporting small local businesses.

“We went to Twin Cities Pride last year, and it felt a tiny bit fake. We wanted a more authentic experience,” said Castro.

With the anticipation of Pride this year also came the controversy about association with Target after it was released that Target would be removing their DEI program.

This news was upsetting for many who attended the festival in the past, as their DEI program was built “to help Black employees build meaningful careers, improve the experience of Black shoppers and promote Black-owned businesses,” said MPR News.

The festival ended up removing their affiliation with Target.

“As we grow, so will our efforts to identify areas for improvement. This will include, but not be limited to, our programming and our communications. We will always seek the truth and expect the same from our partners,” said Twin Cities Pride in their mission statement.

“We promise to listen and strive to create an environment of understanding, to amplify each of our voices, and forge a path forward as a unified group,” Twin Cities Pride said on their website.

Small businesses have stepped up to help fund Twin Cities Pride and cover the $700,000 loss after losing many ties with corporations.

“It’s actual real people, their roots, and their art, and it’s not Target,” another People’s Pride attendee, Celia Cortopassi, said.

SOURCE: THE MINNESOTA DAILY