Activism

This year marks 50 years since the defining moment outside the Stonewall Pub in New York City in 1969 where drag queens, trans women and other queer people first revolted against the discriminatory practices of the police.

Since that night, Pride has evolved and developed to mean a great deal of different things to different people. As we reach a time in the UK where many of the actively discriminatory laws have been consigned to history, there is much we have to celebrate, and indeed we believe that celebrating each other and being visible in our local community is incredibly important, and is a form of activism in its own right.

But we also recognise that there’s a great deal of work we still have to do, especially to make sure that the most vulnerable among us are not left behind.

Homelessness has more than doubled since 2010, LGBT people make up 25% of homeless people even though we make up about 10% of the population as a whole. Trans people are constantly having their rights questioned and even their existence challenged and erased in mainstream media, and have to jump through hoops to attain the correct legal documents.

So just as importantly as remembering the campaigns of the past, we’ll be encouraging people to find their own place in the ongoing fight for LGBT+ rights, both in the UK and internationally. History is still to be written where it comes to equality for people within our communities.