Wilton Manors has long told itself a flattering story about inclusion. We point to the rainbow crosswalks and new bike racks on Wilton Drive. We point to our elected officials and our Pride parades and our long tradition of LGBTQ+ nightlife and community. And much of that story is true and worth celebrating.

But who is actually included in that story of unapologetic pride? Whose pride are we celebrating? And who is still, in 2026, fighting for a table, not just a seat at someone else's table, but a table of their own? 

Florida BlaQ Out Pride Weekend is that table. And if South Florida's LGBTQ+ community is serious about the values we claim to hold, then supporting, protecting, and growing this event is not optional. It is a moral and community obligation. 

South Florida did not create Black LGBTQ+ culture. But South Florida has the chance to be the place that refuses to let it be erased. 

The late Bishop S.F. Makalani-MaHee spent his life creating what so many told him could not exist: a safe, affirming, joyful space for Black queer and trans people in South Florida. He founded South Florida Black Gay Pride against a backdrop of indifference and outright hostility, and he did it because he understood that his community could not wait for someone else to build the room. 

Florida BlaQ Out Pride Weekend honors that legacy directly. It is a continuation and a deepening of work that has been happening for decades right here with Black LGBTQ+ people. When we gather for pool parties, kikis, ballroom competitions, live performances, and celebrations that center Black LGBTQ+ joy, they are not just having a good time. We are participating in a living tradition of resistance and self-determination. 

Many of us know better than most what the political climate in Florida has meant for LGBTQ+ people. We have covered the legislation. We have run the stories. We have watched as lawmakers in Tallahassee have made it their mission to erase queer and trans people from existence, particularly in schools, in healthcare, and even in our gayborhood. 

Black LGBTQ+ Floridians carry an additional layer of that burden. They face housing insecurity, healthcare gaps, employment discrimination, and community violence at rates that far exceed the broader LGBTQ+ population. And they do so in a state that has made it clear, through its laws and its rhetoric, that their existence is inconvenient at the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality. 

This is why coming together with pride matters. This is why Florida BlaQ Out Pride Weekend, backed by over 40 sponsors and partners including OutSFL itself, the Human Rights Campaign, SAVE, TransInclusive Group, The Pride Center, and many more, is

more than a fun weekend. It is an answer to a political project of erasure. It says, plainly, loudly and boldly: we are here, we have always been here, and no legislation or banning of language (or books) changes that. 

One of the most distinctive and important elements of Florida BlaQ Out Pride Weekend is its official partnership with the Florida Ballroom Alliance. For readers who may not know the history: ballroom culture, born among Black and Latino queer communities in New York in the late 1800s and carried forward through the houses and the legendary figures who gave everything to the art form, has deep roots in South Florida. Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Orlando: these cities have produced ballroom legends who deserve the same recognition given to any cultural pioneer. 

Florida BlaQ Out Pride Weekend is one of the few Pride events in the state that explicitly honors that tradition. That matters. Culture is not just entertainment. It is how communities survive and hold onto our identity across generations. When we invest in ballroom, we invest in the archive of Black queer Florida. 

To the readers across Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, and beyond: your presence at Florida BlaQ Out Pride Weekend is an act of solidarity that no press release or social media post can replace. Buy a ticket. Bring your friends. Spend your money at Black-owned vendors. Support the ballroom competition. Let the community see you there. 

And if you are a business owner, an organization, a media outlet: ask yourself whether you are investing in the spaces that serve the most vulnerable members of our community, or just the most visible ones. There is still so much room in this coalition. 

This is our house too. All of it. And we are committed to taking care of what is all of ours. 

More information at www.BackToBlaQFL.com.

Jasmen Rogers, Co-Lead, Florida BlaQ Out Pride Weekend