Global Black Pride to be held in the U.S. for the first time

Global Black Pride, the world’s first Pride event dedicated to celebrating Black LGBTQ communities globally, will be held in the United States for the first time this week.

The festival, which runs from Tuesday through Monday in Atlanta, will include workshops, art exhibits, a health conference, a Global Black Trans Rally, the Atlanta Black Pride weekend festival and the Global Black Pride Freedom March.

Actor and singer Billy Porter, who won an Emmy for his role in “Pose,” and Nigerian singers Yemi Alade and Omawumi will headline the festival on Saturday.

“The goal of Global Black Pride is to create a powerful platform that amplifies the voices, experiences, and needs of Black LGBTQ+ communities worldwide,” Michael Ighodaro, the organization’s founder, said in an emailed statement. “We aim to foster unity, celebrate our diverse cultures, and advocate for the human rights and health of Black LGBTQ+ individuals across the globe.”

Ighodaro said holding the event in the U.S. right now is particularly important given the surge in legislation targeting the LGBTQ community.

“Global Black Pride seeks to counter these negative narratives by showcasing the resilience, strength, and solidarity of our community,” Ighodaro said. “We want to send a clear message that Black LGBTQ+ lives matter and that our existence and rights are non-negotiable. This event is a testament to our ongoing fight for equality and the urgent need to protect and uplift marginalized voices during these challenging times.”

Conservative state lawmakers have introduced more than 520 bills targeting LGBTQ people so far this year, up from 510 in 2023, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. Of the bills introduced last year, 75 became law, according to an NBC News analysis of the ACLU’s data.

Malik Brown, the city’s director of LGBTQ affairs, said it is honored to host the first-ever Global Black Pride gathering in the U.S.

“Atlanta proudly stands as the LGBTQ capital of the south and a champion for human rights, not only in our region but on a global scale,” Brown said in a statement in April.

About 51.4% of Black LGBTQ U.S. adults live in the South, according to a January 2021 report from the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law. Atlanta has the ninth-highest population of LGBTQ residents in a large metropolitan area in the U.S., at about 194,000 people, according to March 2021 data from the Williams Institute, though that data was not broken down by race.

Global Black Pride began in 2020 during the pandemic when the group held a 12-hour worldwide virtual celebration and “joyful riot” for the Black LGBTQ community, according to TimeOut.

“This space has always been led by white gay male individuals, so we feel like it’s time for us as a group to say that Black Lives Matter; ALL Black Lives Matter,” Ighodaro told TimeOut in 2020.

The organization held its first in-person Pride event in Toronto in July 2022 and now hosts the celebration every two years.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com