MIAMI – “Boycott Target,” a two-minute track by Kurt Jantz, better known as rapper Forgiato Blow, shot to number one on iTunes’ Top Ten Chart this week.
It was in response to Pride Month merchandise featuring the rainbow flag in support of the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer communities.
“Inside this store, Satan resides. Wash it with the blood of Christ,” sings the self-proclaimed “Mayor Of MAGAville” rapper from St. Petersburg, who often pretends to be former President Donald Trump’s nephew.
Although a Local 10 crew only spotted Pride Month booze Thursday at the Target in Miami’s Midtown neighborhood, a spokesperson for the company claims that Pride merchandise is available for sale at all Target stores.
Less than a dozen anti-LGBTQ+ protesters demonstrated against the sale of the items outside The Shops of Midtown, at 3401 N Miami Ave.
Nearby on Thursday morning, Wynwood Pride kicked off as it has now for five years. The non-profit organization’s events this year are raising funds for Equality Florida, a non-profit civil rights advocacy group that is politically involved.
“For the first time, we are doing four weekends across the month of June and we are claiming daytime, nighttime, in true Miami fashion,” said Jose Atencion, the co-founder of Wynwood Pride.
Miami-Dade County Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins attended a kickoff event at The Arlo, a hotel at 2217 NW Miami Ct., where there will be a pool party on Saturday.
“There are a lot of challenges facing this community, whether it’s international or local, and I think coming together to support Wynwood Pride during Pride Month is an excellent opportunity to show support,” the commissioner said.
Pride Month was born out of historic protests in New York. A police raid prompted a fiery 5-day protest at a New York City gay bar on June 28, 1969, and a year later the “Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day” march in NYC marked the anniversary of the protest.
The LGBTQ+ rights movement celebrated the legal recognition of same-sex marriage in 2015, but most recently new laws targeting gender-affirming medical care for minors, transgender athletes, and drag shows are a reminder that more work needs to be done.
In Florida, the laws have fueled a feud between Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is campaigning against Trump while seeking the Republican nomination to run for president in 2024, and the Walt Disney Co.
Disney’s leadership stood up against Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, which critics now refer to as the ”Don’t Say Gay” bill because of its limits on sexual orientation and gender identity education in public schools.
The laws are part of the “culture wars” and “anti-WOKE” movements that both DeSantis and Trump endorse as they campaign to run against President Joe Biden, a Roman Catholic who supports LGBTQ+ rights.
On Thursday, during a commencement address, Biden urged the U.S. Air Force Academy grads to “make sure that every member of our Armed Forces, no matter who they are, who they love, feels safe and respected in the ranks.”