HOUSTON — It's been more than 40 years since organizers with Pride Houston 365 have been bringing together thousands of people for the city's largest gathering, celebrating equality for all.
They've been the only annual parade and festival until this year with the launch of Houston's New Faces of Pride.
"We are different from other pride organizations in the fact that we put so much of a focus on the other nonprofits in our community," Director of Houston's New Faces of Pride Bryan Cotton said.
It's a focus that Cotton said is centered around transparency. He said it's the reason his organization was launched last summer.
"Never been on an organization that didn't publish their 990 every year," Cotton said. "You know, that level of financial transparency is extremely important. It's extremely important for people to be able to look and see who's on the board. Who's on the advisory board? How do we get in contact with people? But most importantly, where is the money and where is the money going?"
But it's the fact that there will be two pride parades and festivals on back-to-back weekends this June that isn't sitting well with some. They're worried about tying up resources.
"You say you stand for unity but you're in direct competition with the existing pride organization that is here," one community member at Thursday's meeting said.
"We're not competing with an organization that is supposedly doing the same things," Houston's New Faces of Pride board member Kay Crayton said. "If they are out helping the community, if they're out giving back to the community, if they are out doing as they say they're doing, there is no competition. This is more benefit for the community that we serve."
It's something leaders with the city's original pride organization said can be achieved: setting differences aside.
"If by chance we can look at the greater scheme of things that the community is our focus, we are all here to serve, there's a possible way, there's a creative space to put that in. But at this time, my focus, our focus is Pride Houston," Pride Houston 365's Tiffany Scales said.
Both organizations have agreed to meet in the next month or so to discuss future pride events, including potentially doing them months apart.
The inaugural Houston's New Faces of Pride will take place on June 22.
The 46th annual Pride Houston 365 parade and festival is slated for June 29.