BLM says it is the target of hate mail

Black Lives Matter Toronto says the vitriol demonstrates the racism it is trying to combat with its actions.

Alexandra Williams, a co-founder of Black Lives Matter Toronto, told CBC’s Natasha Fatah that they held the sit-in because they wanted to hold Pride Toronto accountable for what she called “anti-blackness”.

The journey that Bassel Mcleash undertook to reach Toronto from Syria, and eventually to Sunday’s Pride parade, has been filled with obstacles.

“Who’s deciding what’s in the parade is the membership, and my community”.

“If he wants to retract it and give us an apology, we would love to hear it. We’ve reached out to his organization and we have heard nothing yet”, McCormack added.

The message from Black Lives Matter is that Pride in Toronto has been exclusionary. “But we have no desire to police the police in terms of whether they should actually be there or not when they’re LGBTQ-identified”.

He said that people must consider whether it’s more important for police to feel “included” at pride than those who the BLM-TO protesters, who he said are “mostly queer and Trans”.

Toronto Pride has always been an event that has celebrated inclusiveness and diversity.

Here he is having the time of his life at Pride in Toronto.

Because of the Orlando shooting, tighter security was implemented at the parade.

“One of the tensions that really come up is who feels safer in our communities with police presence and who doesn’t”, Khan said.

“We’ve come so far in relations between the police and the LGBTQ2S community, and the police have embraced Pride, Pride have embraced the police”.

Trudeau said the Florida tragedy is a reminder that “we can’t let hate go by”.

I am a Toronto Police Service Constable, and a homosexual.

I am writing today to address concerns I have with your recent agreement with Black Lives Matter TO.

Pride Toronto’s assent to this last demand drew outrage from members of the city’s police services. Since 1990, Toronto police have killed at least 51 people, according to an estimate from previous year. As an honored group, BLM was being specifically noted for their activism involving police brutality. He also expressed frustration with Pride Toronto. Many police officers wore uniforms with the Pride rainbow on them and posed for pictures.

“My priority yesterday was to make the parade move”.

McCormack went on to say that he has contacted organizers with Pride Toronto to reecho the importance of police presence in the festival.

Mathieu Chantelis, Pride’s executive director, said he signed the list of demands presented only to get the parade moving again. People from every sector of society, regardless of race, have shown up to the event and celebrated being a part of the LGBTQ community.

The joyous celebration was also one of reflection as the parade paused for a moment of silence in honour of the 49 people who lost their lives at Pulse nightclub in Orlando. “Frankly, they could have sent me an e-mail and I would have agreed to all these things”, he said.