After intense and prolonged backlash following a controversial lawsuit, Pride San Antonio will replace its entire board of directors, the Express-News reports.
The board’s nine directors, many of whom have led the organization for more than 20 years, will appoint new leaders in March and train them to take over running the organization by June 2027, according to the daily.
The January lawsuit against the City of San Antonio that prompted the restructuring relates to the state-mandated removal of San Antonio’s Pride crosswalks on North Main Avenue, in the heart of the city’s LGBTQ+ strip.
Pride San Antonio, an advocacy group known for organizing the city’s annual Pride Bigger Than Texas parade, fielded criticism from the queer community for partnering on the lawsuit with right-wing group Texas Conservative Liberty Forum, which has fought gender-affirming care for trans youth.
The lawsuit accused the city of making an “unlawful expenditure” of $170,000 in public funds to remove the crosswalks and instead paint rainbow stripes on sidewalks.
Pride San Antonio claimed it was trying to stop the removal of the crosswalks, for which it was instrumental in fundraising and installing. However, Texas Conservative Liberty Forum’s objective was to stop the city from painting rainbow sidewalks using public dollars.
Together, the two organizations seemed poised to hold up the entire project of removal and replacement.
The City of San Antonio was compelled to remove the crosswalks or face the potential threat of losing TxDOT transportation funds, thanks to a directive by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott calling for the removal of “political ideologies” from public roadways.
The suit argued council members should have voted to distribute the funds for each project, rather than city staff allocating the money without council’s approval.
District court judges threw out the lawsuit, but the damage was done.
In the wake of the legal fight, some LGBTQ+ advocates called for a boycott of 22-year-old Pride San Antonio’s annual festival and parade. Criticism of the organization has also led to the creation of alternative groups, such as Pride210SA.
Earlier criticisms of the Pride San Antonio’s corporatization also led to the formation of an alternative event called Reclaim Pride, organized by a coalition called The Gay Agenda.
Last Thursday’s monthly meeting of Pride San Antonio spiraled into a near-shouting match between critics and board members, according to the Express-News.
Though the lawsuit was part of the discussion, much of the rancor centered around allegations that the board maintained exclusionary policies, including toward the trans community, the daily reports. Critics also targeted Pride San Antonio for the amount it charges for entry fees and water at its parade, held every June.
“We’re tired, and tonight just makes us even more tired when we have to deal with stuff like this — just the vitriol coming at us,” James Poindexter, Pride San Antonio’s board secretary, told the Express-News. “We haven’t done anything wrong. We haven’t done anything. We filed a suit to save the crosswalks.”
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