It’s not news to any of us that the current political climate is hostile to the safety and future of the LGBTQ+ community. We’re dealing with legislation aimed at dismantling DEI activities in the Federal, non-profit, and corporate sectors, increased efforts to target the legal rights of queer, transgender, and immigrant communities, as well as pro-liberation advocates/protesters, and blatant attempts to erase our queer and trans history both locally (as with the Wisconsin Historical Society not raising the Pride flag this year for the first time since 2019) and nationally (with the removal of references to queer and trans people/resources from Federal websites including the Stonewall National Monument website). In light of all of this, and with the number of annual Pride events increasing in the years since the Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020, it is more important than ever that we now take the time to revisit and learn from the history of Pride celebrations in Madison, and in particular, the importance of keeping Pride celebrations police-free, and sharing ideas and information about what Pride organizers can do to foster safer and more accessible Pride celebrations and other queer and trans-centered events without a police presence.

In 2018, I was part of the successful, community-driven campaign to remove the police contingent from Madison’s Pride parade, which was organized by OutReach (story covered by Our Lives in Pride, Police, and Protest, A Community Responds to Pride, Police, and Protest, OutReach Board Votes to Withdraw Pride Parade Applications by Madison Area Law Enforcement Groups). I had been a volunteer with OutReach since 2011, and had been helping with the Pride parade since 2014 when OutReach took over parade hosting duties. From the start, I was vocal about my opposition to having police involvement in our local Pride events, but I was often dismissed due to the existing relationships between local police who are LGBTQ+ and police supporters in the community. 

Once I joined the OutReach Board of Directors in June of 2018, I was better able to be part of the conversation and decision-making process. In the months leading up to the 2018 Pride parade, I worked diligently to educate and foster dialogue with the other Board members on this issue. Meanwhile, members of the Community Pride Coalition grassroots organization were also working to put pressure on OutReach, educate the Madison LGBTQ+ community at large, and campaign for a police-free Pride parade. But they weren’t the only ones. Groups like Freedom, Inc. and other local organizations had been working on campaigns for years that called for community control of policing, and for the removal of Student Resource Officers (SROs)/cops from schools. However, criticism of police was not generally well-accepted locally (or nationally) in 2018, as evidenced by local opposition to all of these efforts. 

There were many community meetings, anti-racist education opportunities, and painful conversations following the 2018 Pride parade regarding OutReach’s decision to remove the police contingent, as well as conversations about how to move forward with future police free Pride events. These conversations led to the creation of OutReach’s MAGIC Pride Festival (story covered in Our Lives article OutReach will not hold Pride parade in 2019, focus is on festival instead, and in Madison 365 article Inaugural OutReach Magic Festival an Opportunity For Diversity, Community Healing, Growth and Celebration).

The highly successful inaugural OutReach MAGIC Pride Festival was held at Warner Park in August of 2019 with no police presence as security or as part of the celebration. However, off-duty, out–of–uniform police were welcome to join the celebration as community members. 

Then, as planning was underway for the 2020 Magic Pride Festival, the world shut down and we all watched in horror while bystanders livestreamed the police murder of George Floyd. Protests in support of Black lives and against police violence erupted around the globe. Each day, more and more organizations were claiming to support the Black Lives Matter movement and intersectionality, and professional DEI work groups were created en masse. However, despite significant calls to defund the police, the boom of anti-racist educational campaigns and demonstrations, the proliferation of professional DEI communities, the incorporation of intersectional understanding of power and privilege, and greater awareness of police violence against marginalized communities, many Pride celebrations (both locally and nationally) continue to include police as both security and as part of the celebration to this day. 

Police do not belong in Pride celebrations. Not as security, and certainly not as active participants. The institution of policing is in active opposition to the liberation of all LGBTQ+ people, as the foundation of policing in the United States was built on colonization and enforcement of unjust laws such as slave patrols, Jim Crow laws, sumptuary laws (such as those against trans people), and through criminalizing poverty and marginalization. Additionally, all police are required to enforce unjust laws and legislation regardless of whether those laws harm our community. Not to mention the heinous treatment of queer and trans people in jails and prisons, treatment that is supported by unjust, unethical, and homophobic/transphobic policies. Moreover, the struggle for LGBTQ+ liberation cannot be separated from the struggle for liberation of all communities that are victimized by police, as there are LGBTQ+ people in every walk of life. 

The typical arguments to support police involvement in Pride center around “inclusivity,” “the need to build relationships with police,” and “concerns of safety.” But it is not inclusive to allow police space at Pride, as being a police officer is a job and not a marginalized identity. Furthermore, LGBTQ+ people who happen to be police can still attend Pride celebrations off-duty and out of uniform, because they would be attending as community members and not as police. It is far more alienating than inclusive to involve police in Pride events when their presence, representing their chosen job, leads to the exclusion of queer and trans people who have been/are victimized by the police. Moreover, the presence of police does not dissuade people who wish to do harm, nor does it make everyone safe. If anything, a police presence lulls some people into the illusion of safety while making many others in the community feel unsafe to join Pride festivities. 

Safety arguments often center on extreme examples of harm, such as what happened at the Charlottesville Unite the Right Rally, as well as what happened at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. These arguments gloss over the fact that police were present at the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville and did not prevent violence from occurring. Similarly, the security guard at Pulse was an officer who abandoned his security post, which allowed the shooter to enter the club several times prior to committing the mass shooting. In the aftermath, several police officers who responded to the Pulse shooting violated victims’ civil rights, arrested victims who had escaped the mass shooting, and acted with questionable timing considering the number of victims who were killed after police arrived. Police cannot be relied upon to make our Pride celebrations safer.

Pride events are safer when safety plans focus on uplifting the community with resources rather than discipline or intimidation. Safer Pride events should focus on careful planning around accessibility considerations, including: Making events accessible to a broad range of disabled folks; having basic first aid and emergency plans available; having helpers available in all areas to look out for any issues, to assist attendees with navigating the event, and to provide access to food and water; having good communication among point people who can respond to any issues that may arise and provide de-escalation and/or other resources as needed. Having people assist with parking and at event entrances can help deter any anti-LGBTQ+ protesters. And if alcohol is served at the event, providing no-cost, safe transportation options for those who overindulge is a great way to help keep people safe both during and after the celebration. These are just a few ideas for keeping events safer, though there are many more things Pride event planners can do to ensure a safe and inclusive event for all attendees. 

If you have a Pride event that requires a police presence due to ordinances, consider ways in which you can still make the event safer and more accessible to queer and trans people. For example, consider not allowing uniformed, on-duty police to march in the parade or to have a resource table. Make sure to have at least one point person to communicate with the police, with other helpers available to disrupt any police targeting of Pride event attendees. Finally, consider holding a smaller event that doesn’t require police or permits.

In this unstable, unethical, and inequitable political landscape, it is of the utmost importance that we uplift the most vulnerable in our communities by not complying in advance to appease oppressive actors/agents whenever possible. It is as necessary as ever to build sincere and dedicated coalitions across targeted populations to fight against violent policies. And it is essential to disrupt the criminalization of all marginalized people, which is enacted by the State and weaponized through the police. 

I am proud to have been involved in OutReach’s decision to remove police from Pride events. And although I am no longer a member of the Board, I hope that OutReach continues to hold safer, police-free events, including the MAGIC Pride Festival, far into the future. I also hope that other local, regional, and national organizations follow our lead and move toward safer, more accessible, police-free Pride celebrations, as the greatest resistance and support we have access to lies in community.

jilip (jill) nagler (ze/hir; they/them) is a community activist and organizer, a local musician, a bibliophile, a muser, queer, trans, fat, and disabled, and a cat enthusiast. Everything ze knows about justice they learned from Angela Davis, Audre Lorde, bell hooks and queer/trans folks fighting for our collective liberation around the world.