Durham Pride’s coming. How Trump funding concerns ended the county’s sponsorship

Next weekend, rainbow flags and a chorus of voices will fill downtown Durham for the annual Pride celebration.

But this year a key sponsor will be missing: Durham County, which decided not to help fund the event to avoid being targeted by the Trump administration over its support for the LGBTQ+ community.

Durham County’s $1 billion budget supports county residents’ health, schools, parks and recreation, and other needs. With the Trump administration threatening federal funding cuts for institutions and majority Democratic cities and counties over diversity issues, county leaders felt being a named sponsor for Pride posed too great a risk.

“It’s safe to say that every single commissioner on our board, including our county staff, are supportive and love our LGBTQ+ community. The decision was such a terrible, difficult issue to navigate,” said Durham County Commissioners Chair Nida Allam in an interview Friday. “This is exactly what this Trump administration wants: to make it difficult for counties like Durham that are so blue, because he’s trying to divide us. He wants to test what Democratic counties are going to do.”

Durham County receives over $100 million in federal funding that supports mental health services, HIV testing, schools and other programs that impact the daily lives of LGBTQ+ residents, Allam said. The county’s Health Department also gets federal dollars to support public health programs like nutrition and dental services, and housing funds for poor residents living with HIV/AIDS.

Durham Public Schools, which are funded through the county, gets $43 million in federal funds each year.

There was no telling what the Trump administration might do if Durham County was a named sponsor for Pride this year, Allam said, adding, “We’re not dealing with a normal administration.”

“We barely survived Trump One, and we cannot risk people’s lives that could be hurt and damaged forever by losing the funding that will save people’s lives in Durham County,” she said.

Durham County has given over $10,000 to the LGBTQ Center of Durham in support of Pride each year. The money supports the event and the center’s operations, and pays for things like health services or masks, hand sanitizer or COVID-19 tests on site at the event.

Jesse Huddleston, chair of the organizing committee for Pride: Durham, NC, said even though Durham County will not be a named sponsor this year, it is not an enemy. Some county commissioners will join the Pride parade next Saturday and have personally donated to the event.

“If we’re reading the entire room, we recognize what’s happening with this federal administration, and how seriously and directly and negatively many people and systems are being impacted,” he said in an interview.

Last month, the Trump Administration deployed the National Guard to Washington, D.C. and took control of the city’s police department as a pledge to crack down on crime. Since then, the president has considered sending troops to Chicago, Baltimore, and New York.

Locally, the Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice in Durham lost federal funding because its work related to the human rights activist did not align with the “interests of the United States,” according to a letter sent to the center’s director.

“We can understand that this administration is targeting democratic, progressive towns, cities and the county is doing its due diligence to mitigate that harm and to survive and get as many resources as it can to respond to the many needs that don’t just serve LGBTQ folks, but serve several vulnerable populations that are marginalized by these systems of oppression,” Huddleston said.

When is Pride: Durham, NC?

Pride Durham, NC kicks off on Friday, Sept. 26, with a concert and rally at 5 p.m. in the CCB Plaza downtown Durham at 201 Corcoran St. A parade and march, and a health and wellness event will be held Saturday, Sept. 27, on Duke’s East Campus. The celebrations conclude on Sunday, Sept. 28, with a vendor and food market in Durham Central Park.

Some of the sponsors for Pride: Durham, NC include the City of Durham, Indy Week, which is live-streaming the parade, Lenovo, Alliance Health, and Democracy NC.

Huddleston said the LGBTQ Center is partnering with the city’s police department and volunteers to ensure festival-goers’ safety during the weekend-long event.

Find more information about Pride: Durham, NC at lgbtqcenterofdurham.org.

NC Reality Check is an N&O series holding those in power accountable and shining a light on public issues that affect the Triangle or North Carolina. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email realitycheck@newsobserver.com.

This story was originally published September 19, 2025 at 12:20 PM.

Kristen Johnson

The News & Observer

919-829-4532

Kristen Johnson is a local government reporter covering Durham for The News & Observer. She previously covered Cary and western Wake County. Prior to coming home to the Triangle, she reported for The Fayetteville Observer and spent time covering politics and culture in Washington, D.C. She is an alumna of UNC at Charlotte and American University.