Dear Community Members:
As we all eagerly await the warmer months of the year, it is time to once again turn our minds to how our communities will recognize and celebrate Pride.
Today we have two announcements to share with you that will impact the future of Pride in the Borderland area.
No Passport to Pride March in 2025
First, as suggested in earlier communications, we have made the executive decision not to hold our cross-border Pride March this year. This is not a decision made lightly. We recognize the ongoing need for a strong presence for 2SLGBTQIA+ people in the United States and the International Falls area, and we know that that visibility is incredibly important during these troubling times for queer people and their families. We are also grateful for the numerous allies and supporters of Pride in International Falls.
However, we cannot, in good conscience, subject gender diverse members of our community to discrimination, misgendering, or uncertain treatment by U.S. border officials or other institutions, in light of the bigoted and transphobic policy edicts of the Trump administration.
We also have growing safety concerns in the current political climate, including the potential for threats or actual incidents of harassment or violence targeting our participants. We are fearful, given the U.S. government's actions since the inauguration, that our complaints, or even a crisis, could be met with indifference.
We call on local leaders in International Falls to hold their state and federal representatives accountable for the damage the irresponsible actions and rhetoric from the Trump administration are causing to community safety and the well-being of marginalized people in our region.
Pride Leadership Renewal
Second, we are once again putting out the call for renewal in Pride Month organizing. Borderland Pride's key organizing team has organized and promoted the event lineup, in coordination with our amazing partner organizations, each year since 2018.
While our directors and officers will continue to provide governance, financial, advocacy, and communications support in 2025, we are calling for volunteers who are interested in forming an organizing committee to spearhead planning for Pride 2025. If a group of individuals comes forward and is interested in forming a committee, we will provide support for an organizing meeting to begin the planning process. It will then be up to the committee to drive planning as we head into the spring.
We hope that some among the next group of organizers can be positioned to take leadership roles on the Borderland Pride board in the future as we look to the long-term succession of the organization. Unlike any other festival or community event, the mission of Pride and the needs it has to respond to continuously evolve. We see organizing and volunteer renewal as key to ensuring that the mandate and efforts of Borderland Pride remain up-to-date with the needs of those in the community it strives to support most.
Pride can be as big or small as the community makes it. As we have repeatedly stated since our first 2SLGBTQIA+ events in 2018, Pride is powered by public participation. Your involvement is critical to the future and growth of our movement in the Borderland area.
Please contact us with your questions or expressions of interest at borderlandpride@gmail.com.
Sincerely,
Borderland Pride