Trans-Ponder hosts Mila and Jayna L-Ponder cover experiences and insights about transition, and interviews with people in the trans community. Though new episodes aren’t currently airing, the archives are a great resource.
Pride season is right around the corner, and while that means that your calendar is probably full of parties and parades, there are also Black Pride marches and festivities happening all across the country that should move to the top of your Pride Month calendar.
Pride Month is about demanding space and celebrating marginalized LGBTQ+ identities, but sometimes the Black queer community can be left out of the equation. That’s why Black Pride Month events are so important.
The very first Black Gay Pride event took place in 1991, when DC Black Pride had its inaugural celebration, paving the way for a movement of Black Pride protests and festivals across the United States. What has become a way to celebrate identity and demand a seat at the table started in response to how Black LGBTQ+ communities were disproportionately affected by the AIDS epidemic and encourages Black people to celebrate their own culture and heritage. Since then, events have cropped up all over the country to champion Black rights and joyfully gather in community with one another.
Don't see an event you're excited about? Email us at news@equalpide.com and we'll add it to the calendar.
Keep scrolling to see all of the amazing Black Pride Month events happening in America!
DC Black Pride (May 23 - 26)
Nicole Glass Photography/Shutterstock
This year Washington, DC will be home to the WorldPride celebration, but that’s not all. There will also be a four-day-long Black Pride festival that will feature electrifying parties, glamorous balls, health and wellness breakout sessions, and dynamic performances.
Tri-State Black Pride in Memphis, Tennessee will have a drag brunch, “dripping wet” pool party, and a music festival, and although you have to buy tickets the events make it worth the price of admission.
New Orleans knows how to do Pride right! The Black Pride weekend will start with a mixer before the Black Queer summit with panels, workshops, and meaningful conversations. There will also be a country-themed party, a community festival in Armstrong Park, a Nightcap Party with live DJs, and a Gospel Drag Brunch.
Indy Pride’s BLQ+ event is one part Pride celebration and one part Juneteenth event. The day is a way to honor the history of Junneteenth and the resiliency and solidarity of the Black queer and trans community.
On June 28, downtown Greenville, South Carolina, will become the home of the Black Pride Festival. The day will start with a march and end with a festival that is both an opportunity and celebration of the BIPOC LGBTQ+ community.
This year’s Harlem Pride has a “Kween & Qing” theme that will honor the unique contributions of community leaders. There will be a Kween and Qing pageant and crowning ceremony, a Pride Sweet 16 party, and a festival with live performances, local vendors, community resources, and amazing food.
San Francisco Soul of Pride is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. What started as a place to uplift Black LGBTQ+ community in San Francisco has become a vibrant celebration that blends art, activism, and fellowship. There will be performances, art, and activism during Pride weekend that will celebrate the rich diversity of the Black queer community.
Hosted by the Boston LesBiGay Urban Foundation, Boston Black Pride takes place over five days and includes a Pride Parade and music and arts festival. There will also be an open mic night party, a teen party, an R&B brunch, a Black Pride Ball, and a Met Gala.
LA Black Pride is a five-day festival meant to uplift and celebrate the Black LGBTQ+ community, and includes an R&B party, a block party, a brunch, a Soul Sunday event at The Abbey.
The 8th annual Black Pride RVA Festival takes place in Richmond, Virginia, and kicks off with a big party, which is meant to celebrate unity and culture. The rest of the event includes a Root Award ceremony at the Black History Museum, a Day of Purpose festival, a Blacktopia Ball, and a Pride in the Park celebration.
Twin Cities Black Pride celebration will include an awards ceremony recognizing outstanding contributions within the Black LGBTQ+ community, a party boat, and a Sip, Paint, and Smoke event where a relaxed atmosphere, drinks, painting, and socializing.
Even before he came out back in 2018 while starring in Love, Simon, Joey Pollari has brought queer representation to the big and small screens with a slew of notable roles over the years.
Pollari's latest project is no exception as he stars in the adorable LGBTQ+ rom-com Things Like This, where his character Zack deals with crippling anxiety as his life starts falling apart once he reunites with his middle school crush.
"I thought the opportunity would be really fun! Playing this role was a blast because of that level of fear and anxiety eating at him nonstop. [The] hope is that someone will have some kind of recognition that's helping them along," Pollari tells PRIDE.
Pollari is beyond grateful that his dynamic gay roles have opened minds and started conversations for many people struggling with their sexuality.
"What I like about all of the stories that I've portrayed is that, although they're pushed a gay agenda, they've ultimately gone past that at some point. I played those characters where they had so much struggle about their identity. You're just trying to portray the emotion of shame, anxiety, chaos, and self-sabotage."
Besides the very challenging aspects of coming out, Pollari loves showcasing queer joy on and off screen. Since Things Like This depicts a beautiful gay love story, the star dished on what his ideal first date looks like.
"I'm actually really simple! I don't like an activity for a first date. I do not want to go bowling or on a hike. My perfect date is you and I sitting down. We have a drink, we have a meal, and we actually get to just talk to one another. That's just me!"
Things Like This is out now in theaters. To see the full interview with Joey Pollari, check out the video at the top of the page.
TikTok creator Josselyn Morris and her livestreamed speed dating show.
Footage still via TikTok @Josselynmorris; Courtesy of Josselyn Morris
Queer joy is a radical act, so join us each week for more stories that uplift, resist, and shine. For more stories on Queer Joy, click here.
While people everywhere are becoming disillusioned with dating apps and are desperately seeking new ways to find love and connection, one TikToker is forging a new path for her LGBTQ+ Gen Z peers.
What started as the dream of a queer woman with only $600 left to her name has turned into a viral sensation and created a community for queer people to find love in the messiest way possible.
Josselyn Morris, a 26-year-old rising star on TikTok, started the app’s first-ever livestream LGBTQ+ speed dating show that has now grown to have more than 370,000 followers and gets a minimum of 50,000 viewers per night. She streams four nights a week to help queer singles find love on her TikTok live show. Some singles have applied to be on the show, and others are picked from the live audience so that Morris can help them find a match.
“I started this show with $600, a ring light, and a dream. And now there are people saying they found the love of their life in my comments section? That’s unreal,” Morris tells PRIDE.
The premise is as simple and effective as it is wildly entertaining: Morris holds up a sign that says “LGBTQ+ Speed Dating” and has a split screen with the curious single she invited on the show, and tries to connect them with people in the chat who feel a spark with the guest.
“The space I’ve built became what I needed when I was most alone—and now it’s that for thousands of other people too,” she says. “People come back every week. They root for each other. They stay. That means more than views ever could.”
HOW DID I DO YA’LL BE HONEST 😫👀💍👀 CONGRATS TO THE HAPPY COUPLE @ROSE 🌹 @🏳️🌈BBBOŚŠŞȘWWWÖMBMÅŅ👄👅 #wedding #marriage #marriagehumor #lgbtq #lgbtqia #🏳️🌈 #married #josselynmorris
Sometimes Morris helps people find a match and other times the people in the chat investigate the guest and figure out they’re actually in a relationship already or are lying about themselves. Combine that with Morris’ hilarious facial expressions, and sharp sense of humor and you’re in for an entertaining night even if no one finds love. Think speed dating mixed with internet sleuthing, and reality TV shows like Catfish and Maury.
Yes, it’s messy and full of gay chaos, but it’s also sweet and hopeful as young LGBTQ+ find love and build community on an app that can often make people feel even more isolated and pressured to be performative.
“It can be chaotic, funny, and unpredictable, but it’s also full of warmth, connection, and real vulnerability,” Morris explains. “Every night is different. One moment someone’s cracking jokes, the next someone’s talking about what it’s like to date while not being fully out. That kind of shift feels natural because the space allows for all of it.”
Originally from Yuma, Arizona, Morris knows what it’s like to be Black and queer in a small town with no community. A self-proclaimed stud, she started her TikTok channel with one main goal: to create an LGBTQ+ dating show made by and for the community.
And she’s found success doing just that. She’s created a community of devoted followers, who call themselves “Team White Braids,” has helped create 100 real queer relationships, was once even invited to a proposal between two contestants on her show, and heard that one couple she set up has a baby on the way.
“It’s become this tight-knit, almost sacred digital living room. We’re live almost every night, and the energy is always the same: safe, chaotic in the best way, and full of love,” Morris says. “You don’t need a label, a storyline, or a “look” to belong here. People who aren’t even out yet–people from towns where there’s no gay scene–come here and feel seen.”
Her live queer dating show proves that love is messy and radical joy is not only possible, but is at your fingertips four nights a week.
Alex Newell is a titan in the LGBTQ+ community as one of the first nonbinary performers to win a Tony Award. Since their early days on Glee, Newell has paved the way for queer representation on the big and small screens.
Now, the actor is starring alongside Blake Lively, Anna Kendrick, Allison Janney, and other notable celebs in the thrilling new film Another Simple Favor.
"When my agent asked me if I wanted to have my White Lotus motif, I said, 'Absolutely! Why not?' I've always admired everyone in this film. It was a dream to get to work with all of them. I pinch myself every now and again because it is a dream come true. Another one, thank you! It's an honor, truly," Newell tells PRIDE.
Queer visibility is needed now more than ever as the Republican Party continues to push policies that harm the LGBTQ+ community in the United States.
Newell is well aware that their platform serves as a source of inspiration to anyone who may be a bit scared during these trying times.
"It means the world. It shows that there's value in telling the story the way that I tell the story. Somebody's going to resonate with it. Somebody's going to see themselves in it. It's always a pleasure and an honor. We have to check in on each other and really come together as a community."
Besides uplifting queer people around the world, Newell also has an important message for conservatives who oppose equality.
"Read a book! Open a book. Read it and don't let it just be a picture book! Get a dictionary. Learn some words. Sorry, learn to read! Honestly, please. It takes just like knowing that blue is blue and green is green."
Another Simple Favor is streaming now on Prime Video. To see the full interview with Alex Newell, check out the video at the top of the page.
Kai Schreiber and Liev Schreiber attend the "Stranger Things: The First Shadow" Broadway Opening Night at Nederlander Theatre on April 22, 2025 in New York City.
Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Liev Schreiber is opening up about his trans daughter and how proud he is of her for being “a fighter.”
In a new interview with Variety, Schreiber said that his daughter Kai never had to come out as trans to him and her mom, actress Naomi Watts, because they already knew.
“Kai was always who Kai is,” Schreiber told the publication.
The biggest change came when she asked to switch her pronouns, “But I suppose the most profound moment was her asking us to change her pronouns. To be honest with you, it didn’t feel like that big of a deal to me only because Kai had been so feminine for so long,” he said.
Less than two weeks after Robert De Niro spoke publicly for the first time about his “love and support” for his trans daughter Airyn, Schreiber opened up for the first time and said that he couldn’t be more proud of this daughter’s confidence in her identity.
“Kai is such a fighter,” the 57-year-old Ray Donovan actor said. “It’s important that she goes, ‘Hey, I am trans,’ and, ‘Look at me.’”
Watts is also supportive of their trans daughter. When Kai turned 14, Watts showed her love by posting a photo and birthday message on Instagram, "My darling Kai. Happy Birthday to you! Your fierce talent, sharp mind, hilarious wit and gentle soul fills my heart every day.”
Kai may not have had a big coming out experience with her parents, but she put herself out on the world stage back in March when she made her modeling debit by walking the runway for Valentino and then starring in one of the fashion brand’s ad campaigns.
Schreiber also had advice for other parents out there of children who have come out as trans. “I don’t know the answer for your kid,” he said. “I don’t know what it’s like for you to be a trans dad. I don’t know how you were brought up. I don’t know what religion you encountered or what your spirituality is. And for me to tell you what I think about my kid feels like an overstep.”
But he reminded parents that trans or not, raising a teenager is challenging.
“I guess if I would say anything to someone who’s having trouble with their trans teen or their adolescent trans kid it’s ‘Teenagers are a headache. They’re hard,’” Schreiber explained. “It doesn’t matter whether they’re trans or not because you’ll come out of this. But a trans teen is going to be a teen. They’re such a pain so much of the time, and Kai is as feisty and outspoken as they come.”
The father of two also acknowledged that the trans community is under attack from right-wing politicians, but said he doesn’t like to “dwell” on the negativity.
“I don’t like to dwell on it too much,” he said. “To some degree, I feel like I don’t want to overcook that fear or that anxiety. There’s enough in the world to be anxious and afraid about.”
But that hasn’t stopped him from supporting the trans community. Kai will join her dad and his wife Taylor at a gala on May 9 for the Ali Forney Center’s A Place at the Table, which is a center that provides housing and support for homeless LGBTQ+ youth.
Schreiber explained that this is a way to raise money for the organization and support “a community of people who don’t have great resources, who don’t have access to help, who aren’t being protected and looked after by their families.”
“These are people who are being rejected. These are people who are experiencing the harshest version of humanity that we can offer, and some of them are not surviving it,” he shared.
Kirkam/Shutterstock
