It could have been a lot worse but an Oakland Pride organizer's boneheaded comment last Saturday to the San Francisco Chronicle – that the group "politely declined" parade participation by some unnamed San Francisco leather groups in order to keep the event "G-rated" – struck a sour note for many on the eve of what promised to be a fantastic event. Thankfully, by late Saturday, Oakland Pride issued an apology and said leather groups were welcome to participate. Of course, by that time it was too late for leather groups to actually march in last Sunday's parade, but it still included lots of diversity, including drag, families, seniors, people of color, and community groups. Watching the contingents march past were several members of the Alameda County Leather Corps, who appreciated the apology but wondered why someone representing one of the country's most diverse Pride events would utter such a comment in the first place.
Carlos Uribe, who made the remark, claims he was misquoted and it's unfortunate that Oakland Pride used the tired "blame the media" strategy rather than simply owning up to Uribe's ill-chosen words. Uribe's quote – "We had some leather groups who wanted to come, and we politely declined. We want to keep this G-rated" – was accurate, according to Chronicle reporter Carolyn Jones. What Uribe meant to say, according to him, was that public nudity wouldn't be allowed, which is a far cry from people in leather gear. Jones did tell us that Uribe didn't mean to offend anyone, and took responsibility for any misunderstanding. Uribe didn't stop there, though, and blamed the entire incident on the "straight white reporter." Jones was taken aback by that characterization and correctly said her gender, sexual orientation, and ethnicity are irrelevant. So another foot-in-mouth award to Uribe.
The thing is, Oakland Pride has always emphasized its family-friendliness. The Family and Children's Garden area was packed Sunday, as it usually is. But hot bodies took to the dance areas and drag was present, as was leather, bears, and the like as always.
Oakland Pride lucked out in that the smoldering controversy failed to ignite. Some folks did plan a protest for Sunday's parade, but canceled it after the apology was released on Facebook and Twitter. And no one at the packed Pride breakfast seemed to have read the article or were clueless when we asked around for comment. Just about everyone was willing to give Pride organizers the benefit of the doubt, and in this cynical age, that's saying something.
Of course, the bigger problem with Uribe's comments is just how wrong they are. There are lots of people in the leather community raising families. In fact, one of the benefits of being in an LGBT family is that parents are generally a lot more willing to discuss issues with their children like leather and other communities that come under the LGBT umbrella. If anyone should know that, it's Oakland Pride organizers, as one of them, board Chair Amber Todd, said in the statement. Todd, an African American lesbian mom, said that she is "personally committed to fighting discrimination of any kind."
The leather community, as Todd readily acknowledged, has been at the forefront of the fight against HIV/AIDS, and has raised millions of dollars for charity. San Francisco residents know that some of the most effective community organizations, like the AIDS Emergency Fund, came out of the leather community more than 30 years ago.
So the day went on, with some of the biggest crowds we've seen since Oakland Pride was relaunched five years ago. The parade, while small at 43 contingents, went smoothly, and provides a foundation for next year, as several people pointed out. However, we have a suggestion for 2015: Todd should handle the pre-event publicity, and that should include a personal invite to East Bay leather groups to participate in the parade.