The President of Kamloops Pride says they support people’s right to protest, when asked about the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests in Canada and the United States.

Speaking on NL Newsday, Nicole Stanchfield says Kamloops Pride stands in the face of racism of all kinds, noting they continue to advocate for people of colour.

“Pride exists because of protests, and the tireless efforts of trans women and queer folks of colour who stood up to the face of discrimination and oppression,” she said.

Stanchfield says 2020 also marks the 50th anniversary of the first Pride Parade, which was held in New York City on June 28, 1970.

“So it means a lot of the members of the LGBTQ2S+ community to still acknowledge this,” she added.

“As an organization, we work on behalf of a marginalized community, and understand that we have to operate with the most vulnerable folks in mind as the priority. In this case, its queer and trans folks of colour and indigeneity.”

Meanwhile, police officers and other law enforcement personnel will not be a part of the Vancouver Pride parade and festivities as of this year. Oranizers there say it was a decision made following the recent deaths linked to police actions in the United States.

Like Kamloops, most Vancouver Pride events will take place online this year because of COVID-19, but the Vancouver decision will stand in years to come.

As for police marching in future Kamloops Pride parades, Stanchfield says they’ll be allowed to march in plainclothes.

“The Stonewall Rising was a series of riots that happened in response to police raids of queer spaces as it wasn’t legal at that time to be gender and sexually diverse,” she added. “Police are invited to march in plainclothes as to not have folks triggered by uniforms, which unfortunately still represents a lot of oppression.”

Uniformed officers were not part of the 3rd annual Pride Parade in 2019, as the Pride Society says they came to an understanding with the RCMP to that effect.