To Utah Pride Center Leadership and whom it may concern:

Due to conversations with leadership being ignored and a lack of community representation on
your board, we of the community have been forced into the uncomfortable position of writing this
letter. While we understand the fundraising achieved during the Pride season is by and large
the biggest source of funding for the services provided by the Pride Center, we cannot deny that
some of our sponsors have a history of discrimination against the most at-risk in our
communities.

Specifically, we formally request that the Utah Pride Center immediately divest from Chase
Bank and Wells Fargo as well as retract their parade entries for the 2018 Pride Season and the
indefinite future. Both of these banks have a history of exploiting communities of color 1,2​
​ ,
3,4​
propping up companies that monetize the destruction of our environment ​ , defy and reject
indigenous sovereignty 5,6​
​ , and exploit the poor and undocumented. Salt Lake City has already
announced its plans to encourage ethical banking practices and divest from all companies with
fossil fuel ties 7,8​
​ . We feel a remarkable sense of disappointment and outrage that the Utah
Pride Center would not stand in solidarity with our city and would knowingly take money from
these sources.

It is important to acknowledge that the majority of this letter’s authors are white. While we do
not wish to speak for those who have lost faith in the Utah Pride Center’s ability to serve Utah’s
larger multifaceted queer community, we express concern in the rising trend amongst queer
minorities--our indigenous, undocumented, Black, and disabled communities--who feel both
alienated and neglected by our services. Nonetheless we call on the Utah Pride Center to
recognize that when any form of oppression is aimed at a minority community, the queer people
within that community will always be marginalized to an even greater degree. We call upon you
to recognize that queer liberation can only be achieved when we move to stand in solidarity with
all oppressed communities. We must not put a price tag on our integrity and we must not
convince ourselves it is noble to trade the dignity of our queer family for minimal donations.

Furthermore we demand the Utah Pride Center re-examine its Board of Directors, it’s personal
lack of diversity on that board, and the practices used to appoint their board immediately. A
history of trading board positions for donations coupled with closed-door practices serves to
maintain a disturbing culture of white supremacy, colonialism, classism, and ableism within the
center. Until there is a substantive change to board functioning, problems such as these will
continue to exist and thrive. We call upon the Utah Pride Center to hold a public town hall
meeting to discuss current board practices and genuine plans to restructure these systems for
appointing board members, disseminating information about board discussions and decisions,
and to return the power of the Utah Pride Center to its community.

We look forward to hearing of your divestment before the end of the week, and we have private
citizens and leaders within several organizations in the community who are willing to meet and
discuss this letter and the points therein in greater detail and length. We hope you will be as
open to our message as you have been to your donors.

An online petition was started on May 29, 2018 and can be found here:
https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/utah-pride-festival-ditch

Signed,

Cheronne Anderson
Dylan Ashley
Moroni Benally
Aspyn Bennett
Samson Bingham
Martha Black
Shauna Brock
Maomi Cundick
Michael Cundick
Rowan Fae
Jackie Fielder
Frances Fishbaugh
Isaac Furniss
June Hiatt
Charlie Hogate
Kenan Ince
Kaneischa Johnson
Kathryn Jones-Porter
Kat Kellermeyer
Kari Keone
Lux Knudsen
Adair Kovac
Psarah Johnson
Jimmy Lee
Crystal Legionaires
Ben Luks-Morgan
Pam Pea Mares
Hillary McDaniel
Jill Merritt
Carl Moore
Ascher Munion
Bonnie O’Brien, Director, Utah Pride Parade
Cat Palmer
Ryan Pleune
Adrian Romero
Sofia Scott
Lesley Ann Shaw
Matthew Siemionko, former volunteer and current donor
Trevor Thomas
Lauren Wood
Beck Wright

350.org SLC
Elders Rising
MazaskaTalks.org
PANDOS
SLC Air Protectors
Utah League of Native American Voters
Wasatch Rising Tide

References

1. Egan, Matt. “Wells Fargo fails test over 'discriminatory and illegal' practices.” CNN
Money 28 Mar 2017.
http://money.cnn.com/2017/03/28/investing/wells-fargo-fails-community-test/index.html
2. White, Gillian B. “J.P. Morgan Chase's $55 Million Discrimination Settlement.” The
Atlantic 18 Jan 2017.
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/01/jpmorgan-lawsuit-discrimination/5
13494/
3. Kaufman, Alexander C. “JPMorgan Facing A New Environmental Fight Over Tar Sands
Funding.” The Huffington Post 26 Sep 2017.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jpmorgan-tar-sands_us_59ca6944e4b01cc57ff5a9
82
4. McGuigan, Connor. “ Campaign to Divest from Wells Fargo Gains Traction.” Sierra Club
03 May 2018.
https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2018-3-may-june/bulletin/campaign-divest-wells-fargo-g
ains-traction
5. Russell, Steve. “Wells Fargo Preyed on Natives, Elderly and College Students.” Indian
Country Today 25 Oct 2016.
https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/news/wells-fargo-preyed-on-natives-elderly-and-
college-students/
6. Sutherlin, Laurel. “Chase AGM: Dozens of Indigenous and Frontline Community
Representatives Call for an End to Bank Financing of Extreme Fossil Fuels.” Rainforest
Action Network 15 May 2018.
https://www.ran.org/chase_agm_dozens_of_indigenous_and_frontline_community_repre
sentatives_call_for_an_end_to_bank_financing_of_extreme_fossil_fuels
7. Salt Lake City Mayor’s Office. “Mayor Biskupski a leader in U.S. mayors’ new national
drive for 100 percent clean energy.”
http://www.slcgov.com/mayor-biskupski-leader-us-mayors’-new-national-drive-100-perce
nt-clean-energy
8. Pleune, Ryan. “Salt Lake City Pledges to Divest from Chase Bank and Fossil Fuels.”
Last Real Indians 18 Apr 2017.
https://lastrealindians.com/salt-lake-city-pledges-to-divest-from-chase-bank-and-fossil-fu
els/