In 1991, a group of men, Welmore Cook, Theodore Kirkland and Ernest Hopkins saw a need to rally the community around the HIV/AIDS epidemic happening in Washington, DC. Little did they know that their clear mission to combat and educate the community about HIV/AIDS would lead to a movement that would impact the lives of millions of Black LGBT men and women around the world — DC Black Pride™.

Almost 30 years after the first DC Black Pride drew 800 people to Banneker Field for a day themed “Let’s All Come Together,” more than 300,000 members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community of African descent and their allies have come to Washington, DC during Memorial Day Weekend to celebrate the beauty of a shared community and raise awareness and funding for HIV/ AIDS in the name and spirit of Black Pride. Equal rights have increased in the United States and many places around the globe over the 30 years. Yet many LGBT men and women of African descent continue to feel the need to develop community to stand against HIV/AIDS, homophobia inspired violence and the bigotry that exist in the world. DC Black Pride fulfills this need.

DC Black Pride was the catalyst for what is now referred to as the Black Pride Movement. Since the birth of DC Black Pride, more than thirty other Black Pride celebrations now take place throughout the world, many using DC Black Pride as the model.