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Lots of fun at the Cadillac Barbie IN Pride Parade in Downtown Indianapolis, Saturday, June 10, 2017.

Though the vibrant colors, expressive dancing and energetic performances of the Indy Pride parade and festival wont fill the streets of downtown Indianapolis Sunday, they will still be present as the celebration shifts to an online event.

This year, while there will be virtual dance parties, celebrity shout-out videos and performances from artists including Huckleberry Funk, there will also be a focus on amplifying and supporting the voices of Black, indigenous and people of color (BIPOC).

Given the tragedies that are happening in our community with Dreasjon Reed and the tragedies that are happening across the country, said Tabitha Barbour, Indy Pride program director, we felt like our festival was an important place for us to contribute to the conversation.

Scenes from the Cadillac Barbie Pride Parade on Mass Ave. in Indianapolis, Saturday, June 8, 2019.(Photo: Jenna Watson/IndyStar)

As part of this effort, this weekend's celebration will include a fireside chat with Queering Indy and Indy10 Black Lives Matter, and organization dedicated to "serve, support and love Black people," according to the organization's Facebook page.

"While Pride is definitely a celebration, Pride has always been a protest as well," said Matty Slaydon, an organizer of an organization called Queering Indy.

Queering Indy is dedicated to raising up the voices in the queer community, especially those ofpeople of color and transgender people. Sladon said the two organizations have spent a lot of time working together to explore the best way to use their platforms to "raise up the voices of Black and brown people within our community."

There will also be several opportunities for meditation and reflection throughout the night.

"I think the virtual Pride has given us more of an opportunity to spend time using it as an educational platform for people in our community," Sladon said. "I think we have a responsibility now to take the time to educate ourselves and listen to the voices that are traditionally quiet in our community."

Barboursaid it's important to remember that the first Pridewas the Stonewall Uprising, a protest led by Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, who were both trans women of color.

She added that combining celebration, education, history and healing is important to ensure everyone feels like they have a "place and space in Pride."

Barbour and Indy Pride Executive Director Chris Handberg said they hope individuals feel able to "freely and unapologetically" be themselves without fear of oppression or persecution while also taking time to listen, learn and help the message that Black Lives Matter and Trans Lives Matter extend beyond the celebration.

"It's time for us to admit that we have been wrong and our silence is wrong, so we need to really intentionally lift up their voices to speak ... and let their voices be heard," Handberg said.

The virtual event will start at 2 p.m. Click here for the full schedule.

Click here to watch the Indy Pride Virtual Celebration.

Contact IndyStar Pulliam Fellow Brooke Kempat bkemp@gannett.com.Follow her on Twitter@brookemkemp.

Read or Share this story: https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/indianapolis/2020/06/18/indy-pride-sees-changes-due-coronavirus-black-lives-matter/3205840001/

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How coronavirus and the Black Lives Matter movement is changing Indy Pride - IndyStar