On August 16-18, Pacific Northwest Black Pride will host its seventh annual Black Pride weekend in Seattle. This year's venue and schedule have yet to be announced, but so far, organizers describe the four-day celebration as "eventful."

According to the official website, this year's activities will center around "fostering inclusion and advancing equity within the Black LGBTQIA+ community of the greater Pacific Northwest area."

This year's theme, "Embrace, Encourage, and Empower," has been planned to align directly with the group's commitment to collectively and courageously work for freedom and justice for all Black LGBTQIA+ people and its core principle of being unapologetically Black.

Each year, PNBP provides programming such as faith-based services, educational workshops, and an emphasis on ballroom culture, an art form first created in Black and Latinx communities. Black LGBTQ+ community members told the Seattle Times last year that these culturally relevant programs still often remain missing from mainstream Pride gatherings and events.

Pacific Northwest Black Pride is a member of the Center for Black Equity, and affiliated with POCAAN. Co-founders Steven Sawyer and Autry Bell are two of several POCAAN employees involved in the core team that has brought vital Black Pride community events to the region for the last seven years.

For more information and updates on the event, visit https://www.nwblackpride.org, or find the group on Facebook.