Canceled Pinkwashing workshop tarnishes Pride Week

San Diego Pride Week kicked off on Saturday, July 13 with the tenth annual She Fest where hundreds gathered under the Hillcrest Pride Flag to listen to live music, shop from vendors, and attend workshops at an event centering queer women and nonbinary people. A last-minute decision to cancel one of those workshops led to a rival event occurring in Balboa Park and promises to boycott Pride’s remaining events from Pro-Palestinian organizers.  

Since receiving approval in May, Jewish Voice for Peace San Diego (JVP) and People for Palestine of San Diego (P4P) planned on leading a workshop at She Fest about pinkwashing, the strategy of appealing to LGBTQ+ rights to deflect from a state or organization’s own harmful practices. When the workshop was canceled 12 hours prior to the event, the pro-Palestinian groups decried the move as engaging in the very practice the workshop was about: pinkwashing.  

As other workshop organizers found out about the cancellation, half pulled their participation in solidarity. A couple of those workshops were even held at the rival event in Balboa Park where dozens gathered under shady trees first to hear about Pinkwashing, then an improv play workshop and finally a poetry workshop called Weaving with Words led by queer indigenous women from Pachenga’s Big Oak Press.  

Both JVP/P4P and SD Pride put out statements over the cancellation. Pride cited safety concerns as the cause, specifically that there was “a significant chance of on-site conflict.” The apology blamed interim co-executive directors Jen LaBarbera and Sarafina Scappichio for not doing “due diligence” in thorough vetting and creating a thorough safety plan, while saying the decision did not reflect on the labor of She Fest volunteers and workshop organizers. 

In its own statements, JVP and P4P said the first email they received about the cancellation cited “fiduciary” concerns. The orgs said they were “disappointed and outraged” by the decision, and Pride was “prioritizing Zionist funding over their community and are complicit in the oppression of the Palestinian people.”  

In a call to clarify the reason for the cancellation, Pride marketing and communications director Joslyn Hatfield said Pride’s first priority is safety, so if safety is even a question, then it does not meet Pride’s high bar for safety. She did say donor and board concerns were a factor as well, although declined to specify whether donors pressured the organization about the workshop.  

According to JVP, She Fest organizers said the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) was upset by the workshop. The ADL is not a sponsor of Pride, according to its website. JVP also claimed LaBarbera explicitly committed to support the workshop if there was backlash. LaBarbera did not comment on this article. Pride previously released a statement calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, and the even more radical She Fest encouraged action to support Palestinians and resist Islamaphobia, antisemitism and other forms of oppression.  

Hatfield affirmed the decision was collaborative and shared by the board and staff leadership, not a unilateral decision by any individual. As for why the decision was made so late after Pride previously approved the workshop, she said Pride assessed the matter closer once the details of the content of the workshop were submitted to Pride in the “eleventh hour.” Hatfield said although the workshop title “Pinkwashing 101” and sponsors were known since May, it was the curriculum details that spurred a re-examination. JVP and P4P have not yet responded to a request for details on the timeline and curriculum.  

She Fest occurred smoothly on Saturday and the remaining Pride Week events are going forward as planned. Pride’s social channels have been inundated with negative comments about the cancelation, with a few in support of the decision. With 250,000 spectators expected on Saturday, it’s hard to imagine turnout being much impacted over the controversy. It could boost turnout of the smaller People’s Pride that occurs the following weekend at Balboa Park with no law enforcement or business sponsors allowed.  

On Pride’s 50th anniversary, it is disappointing to see the community divided, especially over an unforced error. However, that too is in line with Pride’s history. As early as 1976, there were community conflicts about depoliticizing Pride and the women’s caucus even refused to participate in the early ‘80s over rebranding from a march to a parade. Pride’s political roots have become ongoing and cyclical conflicts yet the community always manages to reunite to defeat shared threats, whether it be a crackdown on gay-affirming teachers in 1978 or the AIDS crisis decimating the community later in the ‘80s.