Pulling Out of Pride: We Need a "Humility Month"

This post by Suzanne Bowdey from The Washington Stand highlights some of the recent drop in corporate support for "Pride" events.

The first warning shots were fired in March, when organizers of the San Francisco Pride Parade confessed that they were having trouble hanging on to corporate sponsors. The event director, Suzanne Ford, admitted she was “really disappointed” by the flood of businesses dropping their support — to the tune of $300,000 and counting...

...Among those who pulled back were big-time names like Comcast, Anheuser-Busch, and Diageo — the parent company of Guinness, Smirnoff, and other alcoholic drinks. The losses, worth more than a quarter-million dollars, blew a significant hole in the parade’s fundraising goal of $2.3 million.

And this isn’t just a California phenomenon. At major Pride events across New York City, St. Louis, Washington, D.C., and other states, gun-shy businesses are running for the exits. According to The Wall Street Journal, Mastercard, PepsiCo, Nissan, Citibank, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Booz Allen Hamilton, Darcars Automotive Group, and others are opting out of the major sponsorships altogether — some, as in Anheuser-Busch’s case, after many years of generous and visible partnerships. 

“It’s multilayered, and it’s all happening at the same time,” lamented Eve Keller, co-president of United States Association of Prides, a nonprofit that supports LGBT events around the country. She noted that the wave of backlash is so strong that most businesses are asking to have their names and logos removed “from official displays and apparel.” In New York City alone, a full third of corporate NYC Pride sponsors have either declined to sponsor, scaled back their donations, or are “in negotiations to return,” organizers say.

Maybe it is time to recognize a "Humility Month" in which people will dress and act modestly and not hold any parades whatsoever.  

Don't expect yourself or the month to be "celebrated."

Humility Month will not ask for money from any corporate sponsors.

Please submit your humble pie recipes here.

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.

And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy

and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8).