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According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, organizers of Philly Pride Presents have disbanded after facing criticism over social posts seen by many in the LGBTQ community as 'tone deaf' and offensive. Their signature event had already been postponed from June to September before now, being canceled entirely.
The social post deemed to be the impetus for the dissolution was made on the Philly Pride Presents Facebook page on June 10. The post about the Stonewall Riots included language seen as transphobic and police-positive, positions the community in Philadelphia quickly condemned.
A week went by before the group issued an apology on the same Facebook page, which drew even more criticism of the group leaders. After a short time, the Philly Pride website was scrubbed of current events and the page was removed from Facebook.
There are groups organizing and planning to replace the events previously scheduled with new events. Abdul-Aliy Muhammad, co-founder of the Black and Brown Workers Co-Operative, tells the Philadelphia Inquirer, "It allows for something new to be born. It allows for something resonant with Black and brown queer and trans people in the city, for all LGBTQ folks in the city, to have a space that's truly held by the people in our community."