by Michael P Coleman
There’s a bit of a kerfuffle in Sacramento this year around our annual Pride parade and festival, to be held this weekend. First, let me try to get you up to speed on this developing story:
LGBTQ youth — primarily transgender youth, and many of them of color — have led a charge to have Sac police officers who march or ride in the parade, or staff the department’s booth at the festival, to leave their uniforms at home. As you may know, the Sacramento police department has a…storied relationship with POC, especially African Americans, in town.
The Sacramento LGBT Center, the organization that’s organizing Pride, initially listened to our youth’s concerns. After months of planning, and a series of community forums to discuss issues related to Pride, uniformed police officers who are working to secure the event were still to be in uniform outside of the festival grounds, but police uniforms were not to be allowed inside the event’s gates.
Some Sac police officers, including one out gay, white one, expressed hurt feelings, stating that they should be allowed to be “out and proud” police officers. Several white, primarily middle-aged cis LGBTQ men (and some darker ones) have supported those cops.
Yesterday morning, the LGBT Center’s board reversed the decision, overriding the Center’s Executive Director. This morning, it’s being reported that the Center’s entire staff is calling for the immediate resignation of the board president and any board members in support of uniformed police officers at Pride.
I was wrong to call it a kerfuffle. It’s a cluster fuck.
Happy Pride.
In everyone’s defense, emotions are high around these issues, especially during this time of year. For some, Pride season is the time to wave, and even twirl, that flag. For others, it’s a coming out of sorts. Just last year at Pride, I came out as bisexual to a largely unwelcoming gay community that tries to ignore or erase us — but that’s a story for another column.
As a father of four via biology, adoption, and foster care, not including dozens of others by community, I will be the first to confess that I don’t always get young people. It takes a lot of effort and energy to really get inside of their developing brains and try to understand what they’re not always telling you in your language of choice. I posit that if I were a childless, middle aged cisgender LGBTQ white man who thinks his dogs are his children, I might have an even harder time understanding young humans.
But whether we get them or not, it’s our responsibility as adults to protect them, and that’s our responsibility even when they need to be protected from a police officer.
Anyone, whether they be black, white, or green, who lived through an unarmed Stefon Clark getting executed by Sacramento police officers in his grandmother’s backyard, should be able to understand and empathize with LGBTQ kids of color being triggered by a police uniform. And they should be willing to put their desire to be “out and proud” in a police uniform at Pride behind them, in favor of the child in front of them who’s crying out for help.
I don’t have to recall my experience learning of Stefon Clark. Unfortunately, I have my own story with the Sacramento police department that I may carry with me for the rest of my life.
For MPC’s full column, visit Michael’s Mind’s Eye.
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