Oakland Pride Finds New Home at LGBTQ Community Center After Financial Struggles

Oakland Pride will operate under new management and a new date after years of financial instability led to the dissolution of the nonprofit that organized the annual celebration.

The Oakland LGBTQ Community Center has taken over the festival, hiring two staff members to manage the event and moving it from September to August 16, according to organizers. The transition aims to provide the financial stability that has eluded Oakland Pride since its 2010 launch.

“This will lead to a bigger, more efficient, and more effective Pride, especially as we build on the experience and knowledge of the people who came before us,” said Brandon Harami, one of two new staff members hired to run the pride program. Harami previously worked for former Mayor Sheng Thao.

The center hired Harami alongside Manifair Hwang to handle sponsorships and curate the annual celebration, as well as year-round associated events. The festival will maintain the parade route introduced last year, running from 22nd Street and Broadway to Frank Ogawa Plaza.

Oakland Pride’s financial troubles became public in 2021 when the Bay Area Reporter published emails revealing the organization’s monetary difficulties, according to the source material. That year, Oakland Pride canceled its event under unclear circumstances and asked the LGBTQ center to take over planning, but center leadership declined, citing logistical complications.

George Smith III, who served as board president of the dissolving Oakland Pride nonprofit, described the financial situation he encountered when joining the board in 2023 as a “mess.” The problems included poor record-keeping, improper credit card use, and outstanding debts, according to Smith’s statement in a press release announcing the dissolution.

“The decision was not sudden,” Smith said, adding that as a program of the center, Oakland Pride “will finally have the financial and operational infrastructure it needs to thrive.”

The merger represents a return to the original vision for Oakland’s LGBTQ community, according to Joe Hawkins, who co-founded both Oakland Pride and the LGBTQ Community Center. When Oakland Pride launched in 2010, organizers planned to create a permanent home for the city’s queer community alongside the festival, Hawkins said. When that didn’t materialize, Hawkins helped establish the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center in 2017.

The center itself has faced financial challenges during the second Trump administration, losing a $600,000 federal grant, according to Hawkins. However, local foundations, governments, and residents have compensated for the loss.

“Our community has always been that way — people stepped up in ways that were phenomenal,” Hawkins said. With Oakland Pride also struggling, “it was pretty clear we could help.”

Harami said the center plans to use Oakland Pride as an introduction to the organization’s other services, including health care and social services. The pride program aims to become self-sustaining through sponsorships, and organizers are seeking both financial support and volunteers for this year’s event.

The festival serves as more than celebration in the current political climate, according to Harami. Hosting an exuberant event constitutes a form of protest in an era when “rainbow crosswalks get removed, and the rainbow flag gets taken down at Stonewall,” he said.

“Our mere existence as queer folks is political,” Harami said, “and it’s also an event where everyone can celebrate and find joy in these hard times.”

The consolidation ends years of organizational uncertainty for Oakland Pride, which saw competing events emerge during its troubled period. In 2022, both Oakland Pride and a separate Pridefest event took place after the original celebration’s cancellation created confusion in the community.