From regional Pride events to the anticipated run-up to Brighton Pride, we’re now in a space where we have events that can be tailored to different communities and outcomes. As we’ve reached this growing ecosystem of Pride, I’ve found greater resilience and community during my time at events like UK Black Pride. Elsewhere, I couldn’t really see myself as a Black queer woman in the larger parade which doesn’t centre faces that look like mine. UK Black Pride was the first place I saw a Pride flag and a Jamaican flag flying roundly next to each other and the first Pride I felt seen.
UK Black Pride has grown into a massive event since it began as a day trip to the seaside in 2005, now with an attendance of over 25,000 people. Yet, UK Black Pride has still managed to keep its community spirit. Bogues believes this is down to the people that run it being part of the Black LGBTQ+ community. “Speaking from experience, it’s all about the vibe and the energy you feel. The freedom, the queerness, the Blackness,” he tells GAY TIMES. “As a volunteer-led organisation, we welcome people into the family and accept change. It also goes without saying that Lady Phyll is a force, and she really makes UKBP feel like a place to connect with chosen family.”
As the pool of Pride events widens, Desroches cautions how commercialisation can risk alienating everyday LGBTQ+ people and lose touch with their radical roots. The LGBTQ+ community is incredibly diverse, and the danger with too much of a corporate presence at Pride is that they often only push one aspect of the LGBTQ+ community; a glitzy pink profile with greater disposable income, rather than looking at the real struggles we are all facing. “My community feels disillusioned and disenfranchised from bigger Prides,” Desroches says.
As grassroots Prides tend to be smaller, they inevitably feel like more of a community and can accommodate the diversity that exists within that community, allowing them to focus on being as inclusive as possible. Whether you’re planning to rock up to Pride in London, Tameside Pride or UK Black Pride, these events all unify us in wanting to spotlight the LGBTQ+ community. But, as we reach an uptick in numbers, we must remember the minorities as well as the majority. There will always be a necessity for workshops, sober spaces, LGBTQ+ talks and education. Local Pride and grassroots Pride inevitably have that closer, more intimate connection with their community. The work that smaller collectives showcase is a reminder of LGBTQ+ resilience and has been for decades. For now, I’ve found home at grassroots events like Margate Black Pride but, truthfully, as long as there is a community, there will always be Pride.