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Pride London is gearing up for a critical vote on its future, months after an internal dispute over its mandate and focus threatened the organization itself.
Members of Pride London are expected to elect new directors and vote on new governance rules for the embattled organization at its Nov. 21 annual general meeting, an attempt to move past turmoil that emerged in the summer.
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“We have an organizational structure that needs refurbishing and updating,” said Ben Benedict, one of the organization’s founding members who is helping Pride London navigate the governance transition.
“We’re proposing changes to the bylaws that will be presented at the AGM. The recent ones seemed to be insular, more about protecting the board than engaging the community.”
Pride London, the group behind the city’s pride parade and annual festival, put a call out for directors in recent months and is expecting to have a slate of individuals willing to step up and lead the organization, he said.
The group is also looking for volunteers who are interested in shaping the future of Pride London but who do not want to take on a director role, he said. Like many other local non-profits, recruiting volunteers has been a challenge since the pandemic, Benedict said.
Benedict is optimistic the new leadership will bring Pride London’s mandate into sharp focus and ensure the organization is meeting the needs of the community.
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Turmoil within Pride London erupted in July, when a petition came forward pushing for major change in the organization. A faction of Pride London members pushed to get two motions passed – one to dissolve the Pride London board entirely, and another to scrap the organization itself.
The motions were never voted on due to lack of quorum at the summer meeting. After the resignation of two board members, interim directors came on to bridge the gap until Pride London’s annual general meeting on Thursday, Benedict said.
A core issue of the group pushing for an overhaul of Pride London was the limited racial and gender representation on the organization’s board. This lack of inclusion, the faction said, has pushed members of minority and marginalized groups to support alternative Pride events, such as Wortley Pride in London’s Wortley Village.
“One of the issues that was raised was representation. It used to be LGBTQ, but over the last number of years, those letters have grown to include intersex, asexual, two-spirited individuals and more,” Benedict said.
“Through our committee structure, we want to make room for these individuals, as well as allies.”
Benedict said Pride London has been inward looking in the past and will need to find new ways to show up for Londoners in the future, beyond its signature annual parade.
Rayne Fisher, the former co-chair of Pride London’s transgender committee and one of the people involved in the petition, said Saturday he is not seeking a leadership position of the organization at this time.
Members of Pride London will vote at the organization’s annual general meeting at 7 p.m. on Nov. 21 at the London Public Library’s Central branch.
jbieman@postmedia.com
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