Charlotte and its businesses are embracing Pride Month where others aren’t | Opinion

To some, Pride Month may seem to have become as much about capitalism as it is celebration. Every June 1, like clockwork, organizations declare their support for the LGBTQ+ community by rainbow-ifying their logos on social media, selling brightly-colored merchandise and launching new ad campaigns.

This year, however, some of those groups have decided that supporting LGBTQ+ people is too complicated. Amid a volatile political climate, they’ve chosen to succumb to pressure instead of standing by a community that’s increasingly under threat. Target removed some of its Pride merchandise from stores following conservative backlash, while some sports teams have bungled plans to host Pride nights.

But in Charlotte, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Many of the sports teams, companies and politicians who call Charlotte home have remained steadfast in their support for Pride Month this year.

As it has done in the past, Charlotte’s skyline lit up in rainbow colors to commemorate the beginning of Pride. The city of Charlotte updated its social media profiles with Pride imagery, and Mayor Vi Lyles tweeted her support for the LGBTQ+ community.

Contrast that with the city of Winston-Salem, whose rainbow-colored Facebook profile picture stayed up for only an hour before the city caved to angry comments, according to Triad City Beat.

The Carolina Panthers and the Charlotte Hornets each shared posts commemorating the start of Pride Month on social media, much to the chagrin of some fans. Even the official NASCAR account acknowledged Pride. Charlotte FC’s match Saturday was a Pride Night that supported local LGBTQ+ organizations like Time Out Youth and Charlotte Pride. Rainbow-colored jerseys were released by Charlotte FC last month.

Charlotte’s annual Pride festival happens in August, but it will have a number of corporate sponsors who have a strong presence in the Charlotte area, including Wells Fargo, Lowe’s, McDonald’s, Krispy Kreme and Food Lion.

“LGBTQ folks, we’re just like everyone else,” Liz Schob, a spokesperson for Charlotte Pride, said. “And when anyone shows up and says, ‘We see you, we value you as a member of our community,’ that means a lot.”

That’s not to say efforts in Charlotte weren’t met with some backlash. The Panthers and the Hornets received replies from angry fans saying things like “major L,” “focus on basketball” and “just play football.” Even small businesses received pushback — a drag queen story hour recently hosted by a brewery in my neighborhood drew a small group of protesters wielding signs that labeled the event as “child abuse” and “grooming.” Despite the opposition, the event went on as scheduled.

Symbolic support is great, but tangible action that helps LGBTQ+ people is even better. There’s a lot more to supporting the LGBTQ+ community than just posting on social media or selling rainbow products, and the support can’t end when Pride Month does. That could mean having inclusive hiring practices and advertising campaigns year-round. Or it could mean taking a stand against states with “Don’t Say Gay” laws or where access to gender-affirming care is threatened, as well as limiting campaign contributions to Republican politicians who do harm to the very people these companies say they want to support.

Those rainbow Charlotte FC jerseys, for example? They’re made by Adidas, which has touted its support for the LGBTQ+ community for years but also sponsored the 2022 World Cup in Qatar — a country where homosexuality is criminalized and even punishable by death.

“The most meaningful way to support our community is to make sure that there are policies in place that actually protect our community,” Schob said. “Policies that allow not only members of the LGBTQ community, but everyone, to live and exist as their authentic selves.”

But these days, as culture wars rage and legislative attacks on LGBTQ+ people continue to increase, making that support visible does matter in its own way. A “Happy Pride” tweet may only send a small message, but refusing to acknowledge the occasion at all sends a much bigger one.