Black Pride: Uplifting and celebrating the Black, Asian and minority ethnic LGBTQ+ community
- Written byAnnika Loebig
- Published date 22 June 2022
50 years ago, the UK witnessed its first ever official Pride event in London which attracted around 2,000 participants. As time has progressed, queer people from African, Asian, Middle Eastern, Latin American and Caribbean heritage have recognised the need to create safe spaces for the Black, Asian and minority ethnic LGBTQ+ community, in which they can come together to highlight issues experienced at the intersection of racism and homophobia.
Many queer Black, Asian and minority ethnic people have not only experienced racism on the gay scene, but also often feel excluded at mainstream Pride events that are heavily “white-washed and very cis-gendered", Tanya Compas, UK Black Pride's youth engagement officer, told the BBC in 2018. As Stonewall research shows that over half of Black, Asian and minority ethnic LGBTQ+ people (51%) have faced discrimination from within the LGBTQ+ community. Therefore, carving out a space for the community to express themselves, celebrate and raising awareness of issues impacting the Black, Asian and minority ethnic LGBTQ+ community is as important as ever before.
The history of Black Pride
The online social network, Black Lesbians in the UK were the first to create a small gathering for the first UK Black Pride in Southend-On-Sea. Today, UK Black Pride has grown into a co-operation among all LGBTQ+ people of African, Asian, Caribbean, Latin American and Middle Eastern descent.
UK Black Pride was co-founded by Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, widely known as Lady Phyll and attracts up to 8,000 people. Every year, people come together to highlight the queer activists of colour who have fought for queer liberation, and to uplift their community through education, advocacy and the arts. It is also a space to “promote and advocate for the spiritual, emotional and intellectual health and well-being of all related communities,” the organisation writes on their website.
Besides being a space for queer people of colour to recognise their achievements and plan for the future, Black Pride is also an opportunity to commemorate and honour people who have come before, and are often erased from queer history: Although the first LGBTQ+ Pride March marked the 1-year anniversary of the Stonewall riots, catalysing a global civil rights movement around the world, the fact that many of the victims during the police raid in the Stonewall Inn were Black or brown is often overlooked.
Furthermore, the 6 days of protest following the raid were largely led by LGBTQ+ women of colour, including Stormé DeLarverie – who reportedly threw the first punch at the riot – Marsha P. Johnson, an activist who advocated for trans people, homeless people, sex workers, people living with HIV/AIDS, and incarcerated people, and Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, who went on to direct the Transgender Gender-Variant & Intersex Justice Project.
UK Black Pride builds coalition with Stonewall
In February 2018, LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall announced it would not take part in Pride in London in the face of corporatisation of the event and lack of diversity. Instead, Stonewall pledged to "significantly extend" its support and presence at UK Black Pride. This included the appointment by Stonewall of a full-time member of staff to work with UK Black Pride and community groups.
UK Black Pride has since been working together with Stonewall on a programme to empower Britain’s diverse black, Asian and minority ethnic LGBTQ communities.
Find out more about the importance of Black Pride:
Black Pride: Why we need an event to celebrate being black and gay
Vogue: Why we need a UK Black Pride