What Pride 2020 will look like amid coronavirus and U.S. protests

COVID-19 has forced a number of public events to be postponed or canceled. Out Leadership's Global Events Managing Director, Chris Frederick, joins The Final Round to discuss how it and civil unrest are impacting Pride 2020 celebrations and what the organization is seeing from corporate America working with the LGBTQ+ community.

Video Transcript

SEANA SMITH: I want to turn to a big event that we're watching here at Yahoo Finance, that, of course, June is a Pride Month. This year, marking the 50th anniversary of LGBTQ Pride traditions in the US. For more on this, I want to bring in our next guest. We have Chris Frederick, Out Leadership of Global Events Managing Director.

And Chris, it's great to have you back on the show. Pride Month is obviously looking very different this year because of the pandemic. A lot of the celebrations that have always been held in person are now happening virtually. I know Out Leadership is hosting its first ever month long global pride celebration, so what do you have planned exactly for the entire month of June?

CHRIS FREDERICK: Yeah, you know, Out Leadership realized pretty early on that a lot of pride's around the country and around the world were not going to be happening. So we decided to create a whole 30 days of pride that lived virtually, so we're going to be having 70 different speakers, 45 events across the entire month. That all kind of raised the visibility and voice of over 20 LGBTQ nonprofits from around the world. So we wanted to really create a unique space for people to convene, learn from one another, and educate one another on our history. So we're really excited to be able to bring the program to life.

- Hey, Chris. I want to ask you about the social unrest in the country right now and ask you, is there any connection between what's going on with Black Lives Matter, and what happened with George Floyd, and with the work that you're doing?

CHRIS FREDERICK: Yeah, I mean, I think that pride specifically is that time of year. And Out Leadership throughout the entire year kind of focuses on diversity and how we raise up diverse voices and intersectional voices within our community to kind of raise the issues forward, right? So I think that we are very focused on focusing on improving the lives of everyone around the world. And you know, I think that specifically, pride is that one time of year, where people can come together to raise the visibility of issues that matter to all of us. So it's really important now more than ever for pride, and pride celebrations, and even probably resilient to talk about issues that matter to all of us.

SEANA SMITH: Hey, Chris. It is so important. It's also really important to get corporations involved to get the business community involved in all of this. So how are you trying to get more and more corporations involved in your pride events every year?

CHRIS FREDERICK: Yeah, I mean, I think that we're seeing corporations really kind of come into this space and really think about how they want to be involved, right? So more and more, it's not about just slapping a rainbow on something. It's about, how can you show up, and be authentic, and be in this space authentically, right? So more and more companies are thinking about how they can support organizations that are outside of just the month of Pride, right? So you'll see capsule collection.

You'll see products that all kind of benefit other LGBT nonprofits throughout that whole month, throughout that whole year. And I think that specifically, what we've been seeing over the last couple of months is that companies are coming in and supporting our leadership. We have P&G that just signed on as a member of the organization, and HSBC has been really upping their contribution and their support of the organization. So you know, I don't see corporations kind of pulling back in any way. I think that, if anything, they're really supporting and doubling down.

- Chris, let me pick up on that point. Because I think that a lot of corporations have been more vocal in their support of the community, but also, last year, there was a lot of criticism of corporations coming on board at a time when they've also supported sort of more conservative causes that would have gone against the LGBTQ community. And I'm wondering, how as an organization you keep these corporations honest in terms of their actions.

Because I think that can really tie into the conversation we're having today as it relates to the unrest and the inequality. You know, a lot of companies are coming out and saying, yes, we stand with you. But how do you actually measure the action to back up those words?

CHRIS FREDERICK: I think it's talking and having a real conversation about their policies that affect LGBTQ people internally and externally, right? So it's not about just, again, slapping a rainbow on it. It's like, what are you doing to move the needle forward to make sure that LGBTQ people worldwide are taking care of, that equality is an issue that you are addressing as a company? So it's about having a real dialogue, having a conversation.

And I think that there's a lot of power around convening and talking to companies that want to be a part of your organization, right? You have a lot of power to be able to say, no, you can't be a part of our organization, if you don't do x, y, or z. And I think that as a result, I think, companies listen by and large. And I think that's a great thing for equality.

SEANA SMITH: And Chris, going off of that, just having companies listen and making sure employees are involved in this and taking action, how do you translate this to not just focusing on this in the month of June, but focusing on inclusion really all 12 months throughout the year?

CHRIS FREDERICK: Yeah, I mean, Out Leadership, our work is 12 months out of the year. So you know, probably resilient is an event that we do, but we are operational all year round. And I think that we our focused on advocacy work around the world.

It's not just the US. We're really focused on advocacy work globally. And I think that as a result, companies come to us and really want to talk about how they can kind of create policy, create conversation for their employees, so that we can move the needle forward for equality around the world.

SEANA SMITH: All right, Chris Frederick, Out Leadership Global Events Managing Director, thanks so much for joining us today.

CHRIS FREDERICK: Thank you.