The first DC Black Pride was created by Welmore Cook, Theodore Kirkland, and Ernest Hopkins in collaboration with the DC Coalition of Black Lesbians and Gays and the Inner City AIDS Network. Planning was done over about three months.[6] It was held in May 1991 as "Let's All Come Together, Black Lesbian and Gay Pride Day".[7][8] The event focused on raising funds for HIV/AIDS organizations serving the local LGBT African-American community.[8] About 800 people attended.[7]
In 1992 the event, now run by the nonprofit "Black Lesbian & Gay Pride Day, Inc." (BLGPD), spanned over multiple days.[7][8] Events included the first Washington screening of Marlon Riggs' film Tongues United.[7]
The success of the event inspired the creation of elaborate annual official black pride events in other major cities across the country.[9] Annually, over 40,000 is expected which establishes it as the second largest black pride festival in the world.[10][11]
In 2018 a documentary about the event's history, DC Black Pride: Answering the Call, was premiered over Memorial Day weekend.[12]
The event was not held in 2020 or 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it returned in-person in 2022.[13]
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