Black Lives Matter shuts down Toronto gay pride parade

A group of Black Lives Matter activists temporarily shut down Canada’s largest gay pride parade on Sunday, when they stopped marching until the parade organizers agreed to their demands.

BLM, which was invited to march in the gay-rights celebration as an honorary group, stopped two-thirds of the way down the parade route, began chanting “Shut it down!” and lit several flares.

The parade was stalled for about half an hour, until Toronto Pride Director Mathieu Chantelois, whose group puts on the parade, met with the protesters and signed off on the list of demands.

The demands included an end to police floats at the parade and more spots dedicated to groups representing queer people of color. The BLM demand sheet said Pride Toronto had engaged in “anti-Black racism” by reducing the visibility of gay people of color in the march.

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