The Center for Black Equity is a coalition of Black gay pride organizers formed to promote a multinational network of LGBT/SGL Prides and community-based organizations.
Founding
The Center for Black Equity is an organization birthed from a history of pride in the LGBT community. Before its time there were celebration of LGBT pride in DC hosted by the Club House a LGBT club that was occupied main by the Black LGBT community. The Club House started hosting what was called "Children's Hour", a themed party celebrated on Memorial Day. The "Children's Hour" brought members of the LGBT community together in celebration and awareness for each other. The Club House hosted this event for fifteen years before being forced to stop in 1990. Unfortunately, the Club House had to cease business due to financial problems and key members of the staff being affected by AIDS. After the Club House closed down there was a void left. Children's Hour had been a unifying celebration for the LGBT community and all of sudden it was gone. This absence inspired a group of Black queer men and women, Welmore Cook, Theodore Kirkland and Ernest Hopkins, to join together and carry out the legacy of "Children's Hour" and from there became Black Pride. This continuation of Black Pride events went on for eight years, expanding to multiple cites, states, and continents. In 1999 Welmore Cook, Theodore Kirkland and Ernest Hopkins, the founders of Black Pride, decided to create a more inclusive organization that would serve as a network that would connect all Black Prides together to have unifying message that would increase their chances of visibility, outreach to prevent and educate the Black LGBT community on HIV/AIDS, and funding opportunities. They would title this organization as the International Federation of Black Pride. This network of encompassed Black Prides from all over the world ; Albany, NY; Buffalo, NY; Rochester, NY; Boston; New York City; Newark, NJ; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Baltimore; Washington, DC; Raleigh-Durham, NC; Charlotte; Columbia, SC; Atlanta; Jacksonville; Central Florida ; Jackson, MS; Memphis; Nashville; New Orleans; St. Louis; Indianapolis; Chicago; Detroit; Twin Cities ; Little Rock; Dallas; Austin; Portland; Los Angeles; San Diego; Toronto, Canada; London, UK and Johannesburg, South Africa. The following Black Prides are in the IFBP membership pipeline: Columbus, OH; Oakland, CA; Gainesville, FL; Orlando; Virginia Beach and Greensboro, NC. Also, Latino Prides in New York; Boston; Portland, OR; Chicago and Washington, DC. The IFBP organization decided that their brand wasn't aligning with their mission and services that had and is still growing today. On July 28, 2012, the board of IFBP decided to change there brand from International Federation of Black Pride to Center for Black Equity.
As IFBP
The International Federation of Black Prides was organized during D.C. Black Pride of May 1999 by a coalition of Black Pride organizers representing Chicago, North Carolina, New York City, Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis, and Washington, DC. The coalition saw a need to organize the twenty plus Black Prides in the United States and abroad for the purpose of developing sponsorship strategies, providing technical assistance, networking, mentoring, and supporting one another. IFBP acquired its IRS 501 non-profit status in November 2004.
Importance
The Center for Black Equity serves as a beneficial tool for Black LGBT persons who deal with the duality of being black and LGBT. CBE is the only organization in the world strictly focused on the Black LGBT experience. The disproportionate effect of HIV/AIDS on the black LGBT community compared to their white counterparts serves as a driving force within CBE. The Black LGBT community also face work discrimination, issues in housing opportunity, and lack of medical access more than White LGBT persons. The CBE intentionally networks with CBOs to reach to the Black LGBT community to do health screenings, and they assist in connecting them to care and making sure they stay in care. This support system is an integral part in the Black LGBT community that is disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS, Black gay and bisexual men account for the highest number of HIV/AIDS cases in the United States.
