Cleveland Pride 2016 celebration canceled
CLEVELAND, Ohio The 2016 Cleveland Pride celebration including the parade and all other festivities has been canceled.
Separate statements from the Cleveland Pride executive board and the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland confirmed the cancellation. Todd Saporito, Cleveland Pride Inc.'s executive board president and CEO, said that a "changing social climate" in the city led to the fold.
"Cleveland Pride did not have enough time to engage in the development of awareness programs and training that we believe is critical in today's environment," Saporito said in a statement posted on Cleveland Pride, Inc.'s website. The event was scheduled for August 13.
In the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland's statement, center president Phyllis Harris said she is disappointed but it was "ultimately not The Center's decision to make."
"We are deeply disappointed in the absence of the Cleveland Pride celebration this year," she said. "From the tragedy of the Pulse nightclub shooting to the historic passage of a trans nondiscrimination ordinance here in Cleveland to the ongoing fight for full LGBTQ rights across the country, this is a time when we desperately need an opportunity to be together and to be visible."
http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2016/07/cleveland_pride_2016_celebrati.html