Gonzales, formerly the director of GALAEI, said she once considered Price a friend. So ACT UP maintained its booth at the Odunde instead. “It’s like, ‘Are you Black or are you gay?’ No one’s going to run to two festivals in one day.” Price refused to change the parade schedule, de Marco said. “You’re making African American people choose between their race and their sexuality,” de Marco said about the conflict.

He asked Price to switch the date of Pride. In the mid-90s, de Marco said he was alarmed when executive director Franny Price scheduled the parade for the same weekend as the Odunde Festival, one of the largest and longest running Black street festivals in the country. José de Marco, a longtime community organizer with HIV/AIDS advocacy org ACT UP Philadelphia, said he began distancing himself from Philly Pride Presents a long time ago.

“It’s all very clear and transparent.” Decades of offending people in the community

“All the meetings are open, the leadership is voted on by the community, there’s a process by which folks can share ideas and opinions,” Gonzales said. Members of the new group are feeling hopeful.