Update 4/5: This story has been updated to remove references to Marsha P. Johnson as the first Stonewall brick thrower and to add responses and information from Lurie Children’s Hospital and Pride in the Park.
This year, Chicago is taking the anniversary of Stonewall to a new level: Pride in the Park boasts a “killer lineup” featuring Iggy Azalea and Steve Aoki. The Grant Park event on June 29 will cost attendees $50-$100 for access to the show of non-LGBTQ stars. This is something of a Pride comeback for Azalea; in 2015 she decided to drop out of Pittsburgh Pride after racist and homophobic tweets surfaced. Her apology for the tweets might have set her in the right direction, but the following years of her work have been one act of cultural appropriation after another. Azalea, a white rapper who grew up in Australia, didn’t help her initial inclusion in a genre of primarily black artists by using the lyric “I’m a runaway slave master” in her 2011 song “D.R.U.G.S.” But her largest offense seems to be the consistent style with which she speaks, particularly in her recordings. The rapper Eve, among many other rap artists, has called her vocal style a “blaccent.” The Washington Post covered the topic, citing a linguistics essay that explains “linguistic minstrelsy is a form of ‘figurative blackface.'” Shortly after, Halsey, a biracial singer, accused Azalea of having “a complete disregard for black culture.” Artists Talib Kweli, Q-Tip, and Erykah Badu have followed up with similar criticisms, to which Azalea has persistently responded with defensive justification. After these accusations of appropriating black culture, she released a music video borrowing from Bollywood styles as she danced in a sari. A white straight person with a racist resume headlining an expensive anniversary event may not have been the liberation the Stonewall rioters imagined for their community.
Our queer ancestors pushed up against these forces and now the community looks at an unprecedented level of ownership over our movement by corporations, police supervision, and business owners and non-queer celebrities inattentive to what constitutes actual allyship. Profits could be given to more pro-LGBTQ+ services, rather than a hospital with abusive practices. Headliners could be performers with more diverse identities who live within the queer community. Successful business owners could take the time to also create events that allow for the less-affluent members of our community to participate.
