DC Black Pride

DC Black Pride is a Memorial Day weekend celebration of Black LGBTQ+ people held across Washington, DC, and is presented by the Center for Black Equity. It began in 1991 and is regarded as the first of the Black Pride events in the US. The weekend includes an opening reception, the Mr. and Miss DC Black Pride pageant, a health and wellness pavilion, a Black Trans Pride celebration, a poetry slam, a unity service and Pride in the Park.

DC Black Pride traces its roots to the ClubHouse, a nightclub founded by Black members of Washington's LGBTQ community that ran from 1975 to 1990 and was known for its Memorial Day weekend event, the Children's Hour. When the club closed, Welmore Cook, Theodore Kirkland and Ernest Hopkins set out to keep the tradition going while raising awareness of HIV/AIDS. The first Black Gay and Lesbian Pride event took place on May 25, 1991 at Banneker Field, drew about 800 people and raised money for HIV/AIDS organizations serving Black residents of the region.

The next year it became a weekend festival, adding a midnight cruise on the Potomac, a Sunday prayer breakfast and the first Washington screening of Marlon Riggs' film Tongues Untied. In the mid-1990s organizers incorporated as Black Lesbian and Gay Pride Day, Inc., an all-volunteer 501(c)(3). At the 1998 festival, organizers of Black Prides from New York, Detroit, Atlanta and other cities met to form the International Federation of Black Prides, which became the Center for Black Equity and now has more than 50 members.

The 2026 weekend ran under the theme New Black Renaissance, with The Westin Washington, DC Downtown as host hotel. The schedule includes a central hub for organizations and vendors, a drop-in room for cards, dominoes and games, a drag brunch with ballroom, and a faith gathering where attendees wear red and white. The poetry program honors the legacy of Mary Bowman, and the District has issued a proclamation recognizing the weekend.

Black Pride events center Black LGBTQ+ people. Many run over a long weekend, with parties, panels, health and wellness programs and community gatherings.

DC Black Pride has included pageant, health and wellness pavilion, black trans pride, poetry slam, unity service, pride in the park, workshops and parties.

DC Black Pride was first held in 1991.

The next edition is May 28-31, 2027. It usually falls memorial Day weekend.