WARSAW, Poland — The largest gay pride parade in central Europe took place again in Warsaw for the first time in two years after a pandemic-induced break — and amid a backlash in Poland and Hungary against LGBT rights.
Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski walked at the head of the Equality Parade on Saturday — a sign of support for LGBT rights by the liberal politician. Thousands of people joined the march and were cheered on by others waving rainbow flags from their apartment balconies and sidewalk cafes.
But that level of acceptance is not universal in Poland, a heavily Catholic, largely conservative nation.
The joyful and colorful celebration was tinged with fear of what the future holds for the rights of gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people after setbacks first in Russia and now in Hungary.
“The day of the parade is always a bittersweet moment for our community,” said Rafal Wojtczak, a spokesman for the organizers. He described feelings of sadness and helplessness that LGBT people have not achieved rights like same-sex partnership or marriage in Poland, while also facing new threats.
The parade comes days after Hungary’s parliament passed a law that makes it illegal to show any materials about LGBT issues to people younger than 18.
Hungary’s conservative ruling party portrayed the law as an effort to fight pedophilia. But human rights groups see it as a cynical tool that will stigmatize LGBT people and prevent youths from accessing critical information.
Poland’s populist ruling party has taken a political direction similar to that of Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orban, pushing conservative policies and tightening ruling party control over courts and media. The European Union has criticized both member nations, accusing them of eroding democratic norms.
One prominent Polish activist, Bart Staszewski, carried a Hungarian flag in Saturday’s march. He said it was a message urging the EU to act in defense of LGBT people because he fears that “Poland will be next.”
Ambassadors and other diplomats from 14 embassies in Warsaw also took part, including the U.S. charge d’affaires Bix Aliu, who tweeted, “Let’s choose love not hate.”
A year ago, the Polish LGBT community faced a backlash from ruling conservative politicians, local communities and the church. In his successful bid for reelection against a challenge from Trzaskowski, President Andrzej Duda declared that “LGBT is not people; it’s an ideology,” while also claiming that it was “even more destructive” than communism.
A Polish archbishop warned of a “rainbow plague.” And dozens of local communities in Poland were passing resolutions against “LGBT ideology” in what was described as an attempt to protect the traditional family. These were strongly denounced by EU officials, and a handful have since been rescinded.
“We’ve been through a very, very rough time, but at the same time we are going out in the streets, and we are saying we are stronger, and we are not going to give up,” said Miroslawa Makuchowska, vice director of Campaign Against Homophobia.
Wojtczak said “our community has been used in a political war.”
At the start of the march, some people chanted a vulgarity against Poland’s ruling party.
This weekend’s Equality Parade comes 20 years since the event was first held in the Polish capital. Since then, Polish society has become largely more open on the issue of gay rights, shaped by EU membership and cultural influences from the West.
People walk towards the starting point of the Equality Parade, an LGBT pride parade, in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday, June 19, 2021.(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
People walk towards the starting point of the Equality Parade, an LGBT pride parade, in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday, June 19, 2021.(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
People take part in the Equality Parade, the largest gay pride parade in central and eastern Europe, in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday June 19, 2021. The event has returned this year after a pandemic-induced break last year and amid a backlash in Poland and Hungary against LGBT rights.(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
People walk towards the starting point of the Equality Parade, an LGBT pride parade, in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday, June 19, 2021.(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
A woman take part in the Equality Parade, the largest gay pride parade in central and eastern Europe, in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday June 19, 2021. The event has returned this year after a pandemic-induced break last year and amid a backlash in Poland and Hungary against LGBT rights.(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
People take part in the Equality Parade, the largest gay pride parade in central and eastern Europe, in Warsaw, Poland, on Saturday June 19, 2021. The event has returned this year after a pandemic-induced break last year and amid a backlash in Poland and Hungary against LGBT rights. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
A woman with a rainbow flag cools off in a sprinkler ahead of the Equality Parade, the largest LGBT pride parade in Central and Eastern Europe, in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday, June 19, 2021.(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
People take part in the Equality Parade, the largest gay pride parade in central and eastern Europe, in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday June 19, 2021. The event has returned this year after a pandemic-induced break last year and amid a backlash in Poland and Hungary against LGBT rights.(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
One person is dead and two others are injured after a truck rammed into spectators at a Stonewall Pride march in Wilton Manors, Florida on Saturday (19 June).
The pickup truck driver appeared to be part of the march but then suddenly accelerated when he was told he was next in the procession, WSVN-TV reports.
Two adult men were transported to a medical centre where one later died, police detective Ali Adamson told reporters. The other remains hospitalised with serious injuries but is expected to survive. A third victim is in a stable condition.
The car narrowly missed a convertible carrying Democratic congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who was left devastated and “deeply shaken” but unharmed.
Fort Lauderdale mayor Dean Trantalis, who was at the march as one of Florida’s most prominent out officials, told WPLG he believed it was a deliberate attack.
“This is a terrorist attack against the LGBT community,” he said. “This is exactly what it is. Hardly an accident.
“It was deliberate, it was premeditated, and it was targeted against a specific person. Luckily they missed that person, but unfortunately, they hit two other people.”
“The parade had just begun and we saw people lining up and ready to move and all of a sudden this white pickup truck dashed right through the crowd, barely missing congresswoman Wasserman Schultz’s car by inches and smashed through a gate,” the mayor said.
Detective Adamson said authorities were investigating “all possibilities” with the help of the FBI, but did not say whether they believed the incident was intentional.
Justin Knight, the president of the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men’s Chorus said that to his knowledge it was a “tragic accident” and not an attack on the LGBT+ community.
“Our fellow Chorus members were those injured and the driver was also a part of the Chorus family,” he told local media. “We anticipate more details to follow and ask for the community’s love and support.”
Footage from the scene shows the suspect wearing a T-shirt with a Gay Men’s Chorus logo on it, and witnesses said the driver could be heard telling police it was an accident.
Broward county sheriff Gregory Tony tweeted that “authorities were still gathering information” about the incident.
GLAAD released a statement shortly after the horrifying scene at Wilton Manors.
“This apparent attack follows reports of anti-LGBTQ incidents in Florida and harmful legislation passed against trans kids,” the organisation said. “We grieve their loss and demand justice for the assault against them and their sense of safety.”
In the acknowledgments in “Home Stretch,” Norton thanks “all the people who stayed in Ireland to fight for the modern, tolerant country it has become.”
The book was meant at first to be about family reconciliation, but as it took shape, it also became about the transformation of a nation. “I realized that he was going to come back and see this new Ireland,” Norton said of his main character. “For a lot of people, it’s sort of bittersweet. You enjoy it, but you think, ‘Wow, I could have been part of this change.’”
His own reconciliation with Ireland, Norton said, came about in part because of how his family’s neighbors stepped in to help when his father died.
“When I was a young kid and someone died and everyone was going around to the house with the beer and cake and sandwiches, I would have thought, ‘Leave them alone,’” he said. “But when I was older, I thought, ‘This is amazing.’ When they come, they’re not just bringing sandwiches but stories about your father, and you’re seeing a fully rounded human being.”
“Home Stretch” is a different sort of book than the one he would have written as a younger man.
“If I had been writing books in my 20s, they would have been glib, cynical, harsh and funny in a kind of smart-arsey way,” Norton said. “Now that I’m telling stories in my 50s, there’s more empathy and more of a willingness to understand how characters can do certain things.”
He is intrigued by the notion that a story can continue after the storyteller closes the book. But he also likes a happy resolution, he said, and wanted “Home Stretch” to conclude not with revenge or punishment, but with redemption.
“I thought, ‘This has to be about forgiveness,’” Norton said. “It’s the only way the story can end.”
Growing up, Holly Springs native Carlton Smith knew his identity wasn’t something he ever had a choice to hide.
“Even from an early age, there was a way in which I was identified as different or called names,” Smith said.
Carlton Smith, 56, grew up in Holly Springs. After 31 years away and running for Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District in 2018, Smith has found value in visibility and openness as a Black LGBT Mississippian.
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When he became a potential candidate for Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District in 2018, he decided to own his identity as a Black gay man for integrity and to send a message to younger people about the possibilities available to them. While he didn’t make it onto the ballot after missing the deadline to register his candidacy, he wrote an opinion piece for his hometown paper that year about his own journey accepting himself.
“I didn’t have anyone in the public sphere who owned all of who they were if they were holding an LGBTQ identity, so that I felt somewhat responsible for,” Smith said.
Smith, 56, came of age in post-segregation Mississippi. His parents, the late Eddie Lee Smith Jr., the first African American mayor of Holly Springs, and late Luberta Elliott Smith, met at Rust College in the 1950s.
Smith left Holly Springs at 17 to attend Howard. His experience there was rich. He explored his sexuality. He volunteered with the elections office of his student government, where he worked alongside fellow student council member and future vice president, Kamala Harris.
He also travelled, spending five months abroad in Paris, France. Visiting places outside of Mississippi broadened his perspective.
“Something within me knew that in order to grow into the person that I needed to be, that I needed to leave Mississippi, at least for a while,” Smith said.
When he had a lung collapse at age 23, he began to rethink his life. He eventually found his calling to go into ministry. At Howard’s School of Divinity, he developed his own political ideals as progressive and liberal. A seminary classmate inspired Smith to become an Unitarian Universalist (UU) ministerial candidate in ‘94, kicking off internships and being a parish minister for UU congregations in New York, Boston, Virginia, Massachusetts, New Jersey and California.
In his travels, Smith built community again and again. During seminary, he became more involved in LGBTQ issues, working with the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP). In New York, he regularly visited The Center, a nonprofit organization serving lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in New York City. He joined two gay Black men groups, and when his then-partner relocated to California, he was part of a couples group.
As a minister, Smith discovered he didn’t believe that being LGBT and holding a Christian identity conflicted.
“As a Black person in the United States, I’m aware of the ways in which the Bible and religion have been used to justify enslavement and second-class citizenship,” Smith said. “If I can see how scriptures can be manipulated to justify slavery and oppression of any kind, then I feel that it stems to the realm of sexual orientation and gender identity as well.”
‘Who they want to be’
Since coming out, Jamaya Coggins, 25, of Guntown has found a community naturally.
“When people know that you’re gay, they just kind of gravitate towards you, whether they come out to you or not at that time,” Coggins said. “It’s just, they sense that energy, I guess. I don’t really know how I found my people, it just kind of happened.”
In 2017, she participated in the Human Rights Campaign’s #LoveYourNeighbor video project, a collection of stories from LGBT people and allies in the South. After sharing her own experience, a middle school friend who now lives in Los Angeles saw the video and told her he came to terms with himself thanks to her.
Jamaya Coggins, 25, was able to come to terms with being gay thanks to chosen family and friends. She believes Tupelo has progressed since she was in high school and is amazed by the openness current generations of LGBT Mississippians.
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“It just made my heart so happy, and I was really glad I could be a part of something like that, that makes people want to tell you that I helped somebody,” Coggins said.
While she’s found gay community, she sometimes feels being both Black and gay is complicated. Growing up, she felt very ostracized for how she acted, and for feeling that the Black community disapproved of being Black and gay.
However, she still feels proud to be Black. When she meets other Black gay people, she gravitates toward them.
What helped Coggins come into her own identity was finding her chosen family. She met Melanie Deas, founding board member of Equality Mississippi who introduced her the #LoveYourNeighbor video project, and her sister, Meredith Deas Tollison. By meeting them, she said she’s felt lot she finally got a taste of what it’s like to be gay in Tupelo.
“It probably would have taken me a while to fully understand that I’m gay and it’s OK,” Coggins said. “I don’t have to worry about what everybody else thinks about it because I have these people that love me no matter what. That’s really awesome. They’re my people.”
Coggins believes Tupelo has progressed since she was in high school, thanks in part to pride celebrations such as Tupelo Pride and Oxford Pride.
“It’s really, really crazy to me how kids nowadays are so open with their sexualities and stuff like that,” Coggins said. “They’re free to be who they want to be, and it just amazes me. They’re so free. I never could have done that in high school, never, ever.”
Establishing Pride
Dejah Abdul-Haqq, My Brother’s Keeper Inc. (MBK) Director of the Office of Organizational Development, remembers her first Black Pride being a magical moment.
“You realize this is a space where people come to be themselves,” Abdul-Haqq said. “They don’t necessarily get to do that everyday, so it’s like you can actually feel the deep breaths happening.”
When Jackson Black Pride first started in 2002, it was hosted by Pride of Mississippi under the direction of Michael Robinson and Joseph Lindsey. MBK, a nonprofit organization that works to reduce health disparities for minority and marginalized populations, was a sponsor. After Pride of Mississippi dissolved in 2007, MBK took over the celebration.
“Pride was basically established to empower LGBT individuals in our community to take responsibility for action, to move forward eradicating different health disparities and making ourselves visible on a social and political level, letting them know there are Black, African American individuals in the state of Mississippi and we do have a voice,” said Lindsey, MBK South Mississippi Program Manager.
Member of Jackson Black Pride, a Jackson-based group fighting for the rights of LBGTQ Mississippians, converse during a recent event.
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MBK made health care the epicenter of the event. With MBK and Open Arms, a safe space clinic, the goal is to foster conversations about a person’s whole health and destigmatize conversations about STDS and HIV tests.
Every Pride celebration had community input and involvement, said MBK Outreach and Testing Manager Gerald Gibson.
“We never do anything without getting community input because we know things are changing,” Gibson said. “We really want to talk about people’s lived experiences and what do you want to see in Mississippi, what makes you prideful in Mississippi and what can we do differently.”
The past year put MBK’s work into perspective. Being LGBT in a state with a high rate of health disparities and is 38% Black means “there’s a triple layer of oppression that the Black LGBT community suffers with,” Abdul-Haqq said. During the pandemic, they kept their doors open to continue serving and made Jackson Black Pride virtual.
Jackson Black Pride is proud of their work building community. For the future, Abdul-Haqq envisions Jackson Black Pride educating the masses with better information, empowering Black LGBT to advocate for themselves, and encouraging people to be allies.
“I wish that the Jackson Black Pride energy could just be magnified across the state, where everyone is OK with who you are, come as you are, be as you are and everything about you is important,” Abdul-Haqq said.
A part of Mississippi
In 2013, after 31 years away from Mississippi, Carlton Smith returned to his hometown of Holly Springs as part of the UUA regional staff for the South.
In Mississippi, Smith has not found the same sense of community as he had in other states, but he believes there’s value in visibility and a need for LGBTQ elected officials on the local and state levels.
“We are part of the population of Mississippi and every other state, and when those voices are missing, when we don’t have a broad enough representation of voices, then people’s rights and basic human dignity often go unrecognized.”
Smith thinks Mississippi has a long way to go politically. Legislation such as House Bill 1523, which allows people to not provide services to LGBT people on religious grounds, and the state’s continued affirming of the confederacy is damaging, he said.
However, Smith also believes change will come to Mississippi as LGBTQ people in the state become more focused and organized.
“There will eventually be an LGBTQ elected official in Mississippi,” Smith said. “I hope to be part of that focus and organization, whether I’m that first person or not.”
For now, Smith is grateful for the communities to which he belongs. In some ways, he said the LGBT community is automatically assumed to be white, and hopes for more recognition of diversity in the LGBT and Black communities.
“Some of us straddle those,” he said. “I think there are gifts that come with being able to understand life in a complex and nuanced way.”
Emma Fay, 32, doesn’t want to limit their daughter in a gendered, or any other, way (Picture: Emma Fay)
As a LGBT+ parent, Emma Fay wants to help their 18-month-old daughter have as inclusive an upbringing as possible.
‘In terms of how we raise her, stories are a really big way we show her a diverse world, even from a young age,’ they tell Metro.co.uk. ‘We read books to her that have a representation of different families and human experiences.’
Emma, who identifies as queer in both gender and sexuality, says they and their partner want to open up all possibilities for their child – whether that concerns LGBT+, race, religion or otherwise.
‘Overall, I would saythat when people think of parenting in this [new] way, it’s about limitations and saying you can’t give your children things such as pink or blue,’ they explain.
‘Don’t limit them in a gendered way’
‘As a parent myself, I am loath to say what to do or not to do, but personally I think it’s about giving them all the possibilities, not reducing them. So give them pink and blue – and all the other colours of the rainbow, too.’
To do this they show their daughter stories and books which provide, for instance, a range of different pronouns, families which have two mums or dads, and a people from a variety of different racial and religious backgrounds.
‘One really important thing is that we found this really wonderful nursery, which introduces all different experiences to the children in their care, and they don’t limit them in a gendered way,’ Emma adds.
‘They’re also keen to celebrate all different kinds of holidays and festivals.’
As a LGBT+ parent, Emma wants to show their 18-month-old daughter as diverse a world as possible (Picture: Emma Fay)
Emma says as they grew older, they also started to question their gender identity (Picture: Emma Fay)
Emma, who is 32 and lives in east London, reveals how their childhood experiences have made them so keen to raise their daughter in an inclusive way.
‘When I was at school there wasn’t any discussion of LGBT+ topics,’ they say.
‘It was at secondary school that I realised I wasn’t straight – I just hadn’t quite figured it out yet.
‘Internalised homophobia is powerful’
‘I was really lucky, as I found a really wonderful group of friends, lots of whom were LGBT+. But some of them had a really hard time.
‘I don’t think I realised quite how powerful internalised homophobia can be, and how it can affect someone’s life choices and relationships.’
Emma adds that as they grew older, they also started to question their gender identity.
‘I’ve been aware of this since I was a really young child – something just didn’t feel right and I couldn’t see myself as a girl or a woman,’ they explain.
They stress the importance of having a school community which is ‘supportive and accepting’ (Picture: Emma Fay)
Previously an English teacher, Emma is now director of education for charity Just Like Us (Picture: Emma Fay)
‘If we’d discussed these kinds of things when I was at school, it could have changed the way I thought about myself back then.’
Having a school community which is ‘supportive and accepting’ of children’s identities is incredibly important says Emma, a former English teacher.
It’s one of the reasons why they started working for young people’s charity Just Like Us around two years ago – which they called a ‘dream job’.
‘Celebrate being LGBT’
‘We describe ourselves as the charity for LGBT+ young people, and we want them to see that being LGBT+ is something to be celebrated,’ explains Emma, who is the director of education for the charity.
‘We work directly with pupils, and primary and secondary educators to do this.’
In their day-to-day job, Emma communicates with schools and their staff to help build relationships, arrange talks and raise awareness of the charity’s work. Much of the work has been online only during the coronavirus pandemic.
They say that ‘there are so many big differences’ educators can make to young people’s lives if they move to be inclusive.
‘We had a member of school staff who sent us a really lovely email after one of our school talks about LGBT+ inclusion,’ Emma recalls. ‘It gave young people the chance to open up and ask questions, and after the talk she came out to her students.
They want to continue to work with primary schools going forward to help improve inclusivity (Picture: Emma Fay)
Emma thinks things are improving at schools – but says there is still more work to be done (Picture: Emma Fay)
‘I’m so happy it created the right moment for that to happen, and we want to support schools to make these open environments so staff and students feel comfortable to come out – if they want to, of course.’
Meanwhile, another student felt comfortable enough to open up to a teacher about instances of homophobic bullying after a similar talk from Emma.
To raise further awareness, Just Like Us also runs a School Diversity Week at the end of June, during Pride Month.
‘Things are getting better’
‘It’s all about celebration, and recognising their own communities and diversity – and raising awareness of LGBT+ diversity within the school community,’ they explain.
Although Emma thinks ‘things are getting better’ for young LGBT+ people, Just Like Us wants to work with even more pupils across the country.
‘The majority are still not hearing anything – especially in primary school,’ they explain.
It comes after recent research from the charity revealed around half of secondary school pupils say they have received little to zero positive messaging at school about being LGBT+ in the past year.
Emma wants to help more educators become ‘equipped to do this kind of [LGBT+ inclusive] work, and for them to know it’s never too early for it’.
But despite the challenges, they remain positive about the future for young people – as so many more schools are now making an effort to raise awareness of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities.
‘The difference is astonishing’
‘It’s incredible – astonishing, actually – when I compare the experience that I had with now, and what some young people are able to experience today,’ Emma adds.
‘One thing which particularly strikes me is how our young people are given a voice. They are now given the agency to play a part in their own education, and the support they receive from their schools.
‘That’s so powerful, and how brilliantly they articulate the education their school needs to give them to talk about how they feel. Lots of schools are fantastic at this and have that student-led approach.
‘LGBT+ young people are out there, and they know what they need.’
Washington Spirit forward Kumi Yokoyama came out as a transgender man on Saturday, becoming the highest-profile Japanese athlete to do so in a country where acceptance of LGBTQ issues faces numerous hurdles despite recent trends toward understanding.
In a video interview posted on the YouTube channel of former Nadeshiko Japan teammate Yuki Nagasato, the 27-year-old said that playing in the United States and Germany had shown Yokoyama that it could be possible to live openly.
“I’ve dated several women over the years but I had to stay closeted in Japan,” Yokoyama said in the 18-minute interview. “In Japan I’d always be asked if I had a boyfriend, but here (in the United States) I’m asked if I have a boyfriend or girlfriend.
“When my girlfriend said there was no reason for me to stay closeted, it really hit me. Coming out wasn’t something I was enthusiastic about, but if I think about my life going forward, it would be harder to live closeted so I found the courage to come out.”
The former Nadeshiko striker, who participated in the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France, said they had undergone top surgery, or the removal of breast tissue, after turning 20 years old and would undergo further gender-affirming procedures after retiring as a player. They cited Canada international and OL Reign midfielder Quinn — who also went public with their transition in 2020 — as an inspiration.
Yokoyama (right) scored 17 goals in 43 appearances for Nadeshiko Japan, featuring for the side at the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France. | REUTERS
A tweet from the Spirit said that Yokoyama — like Quinn, who goes by one name — would use the gender-neutral pronouns “they” and “them” going forward.
“(Quinn) wore a (sweatshirt) that said ‘Protect Trans Kids’ before a game, and I realized that’s what taking action looks like,” Yokoyama said. “To be able to accept people you have no relationship with, that’s the kind of person I’d like to become and I hope we can create that society.”
The Tokyo native first became aware of their gender identity as a child, cutting their hair short beginning in elementary school and refusing to wear feminine clothing for the traditional Shichi-go-san ceremony celebrated by 3- and 7-year-old girls and 5-year-old boys in Japan.
“I never saw myself as a girl, so I hated puberty,” Yokoyama said. “When I reached adulthood, I thought I’d maybe play soccer for another one or two years, so after that season ended I had my breasts removed.”
“Normally you can’t have it unless you’re receiving hormones, but my doctor understood my situation. I would have been caught by doping tests if I was on hormones, so I just had the top surgery.”
While same-sex marriage and LGBTQ acceptance have gained increasing support among Japan’s younger population, athletes are often pressured to remain closeted even after their playing careers end.
Before joining the Spirit at the end of 2019, Yokoyama played for the Nadeshiko League’s Okayama Yunogo Belle and AC Nagano Parceiro as well as Germany’s Frankfurt. | USA TODAY / VIA REUTERS
Transgender rights activist Fumino Sugiyama has been frank about his struggles during his time representing Japan in women’s fencing, while retired basketball player Rian Hill came out as a transgender man last October.
Gon Matsunaka, head of Pride House Tokyo, expressed hope that a recent wave of Japanese athletes who have come out as LGBTQ would lead to more support for those still in the closet.
But Matsunaka lamented a recent failure by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to pass a bill promoting LGBTQ understanding ahead of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“I was deeply involved with the bill and I only felt a sense of crisis after it failed to pass,” Matsunaka told The Japan Times. “But for a former Japan international like Yokoyama to come out in this way sends a big message.
“Nagasato has supported Pride House’s efforts in the past and she’s very conscious of gender issues and raising them with the Japanese public, so for her to host Yokoyama’s announcement on her YouTube channel is a great way to go about it.”
Matsunaka emphasized that while Yokoyama’s coming out would draw attention, a more important outcome would be a positive reaction from the Japanese soccer world and the country as a whole.
“There tends to be a lot of focus on the moment of coming out, there is always a history that has led to that person being able to come out. … It’s a line, not a single point,” he said.
“It’s important not to place all the responsibility on the person coming out and make it about them, but instead to think about how to make changes in the community and society.”
We support and are so proud of you Kumi💙🏳️⚧️Thank you for showing the world it’s ok to embrace who you are! https://t.co/Gi7btIAT7l
Spirit manager Richie Burke expressed his heartfelt support for Yokoyama, who was an unused substitute in the team’s away game against the Chicago Red Stars on Saturday night.
“We have no time for hate, we only have time for love in our football club,” the Scottish coach said following the 1-1 draw, adding that the club had been aware of Yokoyama’s transition upon their signing at the end of 2019 and offered its full backing. “I love Kumi, always will, and I’ll always have a special place for somebody with that mentality.
“They are very brave, they are very committed to this process, and if that’s what they want to do I’m going to do whatever I can do to support them. As long as they’re happy, I’m happy.”
Yokoyama’s announcement also drew praise from other LGBTQ Japanese athletes such as rugby player and onetime Japan international Airi Murakami, who came out as a lesbian in April, and Shiho Shimoyamada, who became Japan’s first gay professional athlete in February 2019 and plays for the Nadeshiko League’s Sfida Setagaya.
“To smile this much when you’re coming out isn’t very common and it was incredibly moving,” Shimoyamada tweeted. “I hope Kumi’s thoughts reach as many people as possible.”
Yokoyama acknowledged the position their announcement would place them in, suggesting that despite not wanting to play “a leading role” they would be involved in LGBTQ activism going forward.
“Lately the word ‘LGBTQ’ has become more commonly known in Japan and been covered by the media, but people in my position aren’t able to raise our voices and talk about it,” Yokoyama said. “Japan may be a small country, but if all of us speak up together then we can help raise awareness.”
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Caption: Pride Week: Jade Thirlwall (Picture: Getty Images)
To me, a good ally is someone who is consistent in their efforts – there’s a difference between popping on a pride playlist or sprinkling yourself in rainbow glitter once a year and actually defending LGBT+ people against discrimination.
It means showing my LGBT+ fans that I support them wholeheartedly and am making a conscious effort to educate myself, raise awareness and show up whenever they need me to.
It would be wrong of me to benefit from the community as a musician without actually standing up and doing what I can to support.
As someone in the public eye, it’s important to make sure your efforts are not performative or opportunistic. I’m always working on my allyship and am very much aware that I’ve still got a lot of unlearning and learning to do.
There are too many what I call ‘dormant allies’, believing in equality but not really doing more than liking or reposting your LGBT+ mate’s content now and again. Imagine if that friend then saw you at the next march, or signing your name on the next petition fighting for their rights?
Being an ally is also about making a conscious effort to use the right language and pronouns, and I recently read a book by Glennon Doyle who spoke of her annoyance and disappointment of those who come out and are met with ‘We love you…no matter what’. I’d never thought of that expression like that before and it really struck a chord with me.
‘No matter what’ suggests you are flawed. Being LGBT+ is not a flaw. Altering your language and being conscious of creating a more comfortable environment for your LGBT+ family and friends is a good start.
Jade alongside Little Mix bandmate Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Maxim Magnus (Picture: Getty)
Nobody is expecting you to suddenly know it all, I don’t think there’s such a thing as a perfect ally. I’m still very much learning.
Even recently, after our Confetti music video I was confronted with the fact that although we made sure our video was incredibly inclusive, we hadn’t brought in any actual drag kings. Some were frustrated, and they had every right to be.
You can have the right intentions and still fall short. As an open ally I should have thought about that, and I hadn’t, and for that I apologise.
Since then I’ve been doing more research on drag king culture, because it’s definitely something I didn’t know enough about, whether that was because it isn’t as mainstream yet mixed with my own ignorance. But the point is we mess up, we apologise, we learn from it and we move forward with that knowledge.
Don’t let the fear of f**king up scare you off. And make sure you are speaking alongside the community, not for the community.
Growing up in a small Northern working-class town, some views were, and probably still are, quite ‘old fashioned’ and small-minded. I witnessed homophobia at an early age. It was a common thought particularly among men that it was wrong to be anything but heterosexual. I knew very early on I didn’t agree with this, but wasn’t educated or aware enough on how to combat it.
I did a lot of performing arts growing up and within that space I had many LGBT+ (mainly gay) friends. I’ve been a beard many a time let me tell you! But it was infuriating to see friends not feel like they could truly be themselves.
When I moved to London I felt incredibly lonely and like I didn’t fit in. It was my gay friends (mainly my friend and hairstylist, Aaron Carlo) who took me under their wing and into their world.
Little Mix are ally icons
Walking into those gay bars or events like Sink The Pink, it was probably the first time I felt like I was in a space where everyone in that room was celebrated exactly as they are. It was like walking into a magical wonderland. I got it. I clicked with everyone.
My whole life I struggled with identity – being mixed race for me meant not feeling white enough, or black enough, or Arab enough. I was a ‘tomboy’ and very nerdy. I suppose on a personal level that maybe played a part in why I felt such a connection or understanding of why those spaces for the LGBT+ community are so important.
One of the most obvious examples of first realising Little Mix was having an effect in the community was that I couldn’t enter a gay bar without hearing a Little Mix song and watching numerous people break out into full choreo from our videos!
I spent the first few years of our career seeing this unfold and knowing the LGBT+ fan base were there, but it wasn’t until I got my own Instagram or started properly going through Twitter DMs that I realised a lot of our LGBT+ fans were reaching out to us on a daily basis saying how much our music meant to them.
I received a message from a boy in the Middle East who hadn’t come out because in his country homosexuality is illegal. His partner tragically took their own life and he said our music not only helped him get through it, but gave him the courage to start a new life somewhere else where he could be out and proud. There are countless other stories like theirs, which kind of kickstarted me into being a better ally.
Another standout moment would be when we performed in Dubai in 2019.
We were told numerous times to ‘abide by the rules’, which meant not promoting anything LGBT+ or too female-empowering (cut to us serving a four-part harmony to Salute). In my mind, we either didn’t go or we’d go and make a point.
Little Mix took ther message to Dubai
When Secret Love Song came on, we performed it with the LGBT+ flag taking up the whole screen behind us. The crowd went wild, I could see fans crying and singing along in the audience and when we returned it was everywhere in the press.
I saw so many positive tweets and messages from the community. It made laying in our hotel rooms s**tting ourselves that we’d get arrested that night more than worth it.
It was through our fans and through my friends I realised I need to be doing more in my allyship.
Don’t let the fear of f**king up scare you off. And make sure you are speaking alongside the community, not for the community
One of the first steps in this was meeting with the team at Stonewall to help with my ally education and discussing how I could be using my platform to help them and in turn the community.
Right now, and during lockdown, I’d say my ally journey has been a lot of reading on LGBT+ history, donating to the right charities and raising awareness on current issues such as the conversion therapy ban and the fight for equality of trans lives.
Still, there is definitely a pressure I feel as someone in the public eye to constantly be saying and doing the right things, especially with cancel culture becoming more popular.
I s**t myself before most interviews now, on edge that the interviewer might be waiting for me to ‘slip up’ or I might say something that can be misconstrued. Sometimes what can be well understood talking to a journalist or a friend doesn’t always translate as well written down, which has definitely happened to me before.
There’ve been moments where I’ve (though well intentioned) said the wrong thing and had an army of Twitter warriors come at me. Don’t get me wrong, there are obviously more serious levels of f**king up that are worthy of a cancelling. But it was quite daunting to me to think that all of my previous allyship could be forgotten for not getting something right once.
When that’s happened to me before I’ve scared myself into thinking I should STFU and not say anything, but I have to remember that I am human, I’m going to f**k up now and again and as long as I’m continuing to educate myself to do better next time then that’s OK.
I’m never going to stop being an ally so I need to accept that there’ll be trickier moments along the way. I think that might be how some people may feel, like they’re scared to speak up as an ally in case they say the wrong thing and face backlash.
Just apologise to the people who need to be apologised to, and show that you’re doing what you can to do better and continue the good fight. Don’t burden the community with your guilt.
When it comes to the music industry, I’m definitely seeing a lot more LGBT+ artists come through and thrive, which is amazing. Labels, managements, distributors and so forth need to make sure they’re not just benefiting from LGBT+ artists but show they’re doing more to actually stand with them and create environments where those artists and their fans feel safe.
A lot of feedback I see from the community when coming to our shows is that they’re in a space where they feel completely free and accepted, which I love.
I get offered so many opportunities to do with LGBT+ based shows or deals and while it’s obviously flattering, I turn most of them down and suggest they give the gig to someone more worthy of that role. But really, I shouldn’t have to say that in the first place.
The fee for any job I do take that feels right for me but has come in as part of the community goes to LGBT+ charities. That’s not me blowing smoke up my own arse, I just think the more of us and big companies that do that, the better.
We need more artists, more visibility, more LGBT+ mainstream shows, more shows on LGBT+ history and more artists standing up as allies. We have huge platforms and such an influence on our fans – show them you’re standing by them.
I’ve seen insanely talented LGBT+ artist friends in the industry who are only recently getting the credit they deserve.
It’s amazing but it’s telling that it takes so long. It’s almost expected that it will be a tougher ride. We also need more understanding and action on the intersectionality between being LGBT+ and BAME. Racism exists in and out of the community and it would be great to see more and more companies in the industry doing more to combat that.
The more we see these shows like Drag Race on our screens, the more we can celebrate difference.
Jade was a judge on Drag Race (Picture: BBC / World of Wonde / Guy Levy)
Ever since I was a little girl, my family would go to Benidorm and we’d watch these glamorous, hilarious Queens onstage; I was hooked. I grew up listening to and loving the big divas – Diana Ross (my fave), Cher, Shirley Bassey, and all the queens would emulate them.
I was amazed at their big wigs, glittery overdrawn make-up and fabulous outfits. They were like big dolls. Most importantly, they were unapologetically whoever the f**k they wanted to be.
As a shy girl who didn’t really understand why the world was telling me all the things I should be, I almost envied the queens but more than anything I adored them. Drag truly is an art form, and how incredible that every queen is different; there are so many different styles of drag and to me they symbolise courage and freedom of expression. Everything you envisioned your imaginary best friend to be, but it’s always been you.
There’s a reason why the younger generation are loving shows like Drag Race.
These kids can watch this show and not only be thoroughly entertained, but be inspired by these incredible people who are unapologetically themselves, sharing their touching stories and who create their own support systems and drag families around them.
Now and again I think of when I’d see those Queens in Benidorm, and at the end they’d always sing I Am What I Am as they removed their wigs and smudged their make up off, and all the dads would be up on their feet cheering for them, some emotional, like they were proud. But that love would stop when they’d go back home, back to their conditioned life where toxic heteronormative behaviour is the status quo.
Maybe if those same men saw drag culture on their screens they’d be more open to it becoming a part of their everyday life.
I’ll never forget marching with Stonewall at Manchester Pride. I joined them as part of their young campaigners programme, and beforehand we sat and talked about allyship and all the young people there asked me questions while sharing some of their stories.
We then began the march and I can’t explain the feeling and emotion watching these young people with so much passion, chanting and being cheered by the people they passed.
All of these kids had their own personal struggles and stories but in this environment, they felt safe and completely proud to just be them. I knew the history of Pride and why we were marching, but it was something else seeing what Pride really means first hand.
My advice for those who want to use their voice but aren’t sure how is, just do it hun. It’s really not a difficult task to stand up for communities that need you.
The 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) announced plans Saturday to launch a single currency in 2027, called the “eco,” per Reuters.
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The big picture: The pandemic forced the bloc to “suspend the implementation of the convergence pact in 2020-2021,” ECOWAS president Jean-Claude Kassi Brou said after a summit of the leaders in Ghana. It’s hoped having a common currency will “boost cross-border trade and economic development,” DW notes.
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We wind down to the final week in June, along with the end of Pride Month. 23 MLB teams held or were scheduled to hold a Pride night in 2021. The Mariners, Angels, Marlins, White Sox, Padres, Blue Jays, and of course the Rangers remain the seven that didn’t. For the record, I’m excusing the Blue Jays because they are playing in Buffalo, and with the uncertainty of where Toronto plays, they don’t have any promotions in 2021.
Right now, baseball doesn’t have an active out player in the LGBTQ+ community on any of the thirty teams. Still, with minor league and major league rosters reaching around 150 players combined per organization, I would think there are players in the LGBTQ+ community, just not comfortable going public with it. The Rangers witnessed two Pride nights on their previous road trip (one in Los Angeles and one in Houston).
In the midst of batting practice, I asked four Rangers (two players and two coaches) their thoughts on if baseball is ready to take that next step. Yes, I kept their identity private (planned by myself) to gauge where the players are at and what an out player would mean in a clubhouse setting.
Pride Night at Minute Maid Park. Credit – Levi Weaver – The Athletic
Why do you think there’s no openly gay or bisexual active player in baseball?
Player 1: I don’t know. I don’t know if there’s one specific reason for that. That’s something I haven’t thought about that much as far as why that is. I guess that’s something guys would have to feel comfortable with. I’m not sure why that is.
Coach 1: I don’t have a good answer for that. If I had to guess if there are players who feel that they’ve been considered, they don’t feel comfortable being public for whatever reason. Maybe they feel like [the team] wouldn’t accept them for whatever reason. It’s the same situation as people in normal society do, and many people are afraid to come out and let the parents know, or the loved ones know. I would think it’s a tough situation, thinking [the player] wouldn’t accept them.
Player 2: I think that no one has openly come out yet because it’s stressful enough just trying to perform well in the major leagues. When you add that spotlight onto the long list of things needed to [succeed] in baseball, it is easy to see how people could potentially keep that to themselves.
Coach 2: Good question. I’m not quite sure, honestly. [For] the most part, you’re starting to see more acceptances towards everything to whereas kind of earlier it wasn’t that way. I can’t speak for other people, but for me, I try to judge people if you’re a good person or a bad person. To me, it doesn’t matter. I guess the best way for me, I can’t speak for everybody else, is if you treat me well and you show me respect, you should get the same back. Treat people how you want to be treated. I don’t know why or if there’s an issue. For me, there’s no issue.
Pride Night at Dodger Stadium – June 11, 2021
Do you think baseball is ready for an active player to come out?
Player 1: I think so, Clubhouses, everybody is different, and we try and accept everybody for their differences, and it’s all about self-respect and mutual respect among the teams. I don’t think that would change anything with the team. [Looking back] ten years ago, I’m not sure how things were back then. As far as now, I think everybody would treat each other with respect.
Coach 1: I don’t think baseball is on the side of judging it. It depends on the individual and their comfort level. I don’t think anybody in baseball would be judgmental. It thinks it would depend on whoever that individual would be and whether he would be comfortable in this environment and making that a known fact. I don’t think that it would be where his team would view him any different. A clubhouse is so diverse to start with. You have so many different ideas, beliefs, cultures, and everything is so different. We embrace everybody because this is a real family. We love each other, and we have the same common goal [which is] playing baseball. I think that’s where the focus would be about.
Player 2: I think as society has changed, so have the players, and I’d like to think now teams would be more open to accepting a player who is openly gay. It’s very easy to hide behind the term “traditional” when describing baseball values, but one thing is certain, if you’re a good teammate and you can play ball, teams will be willing to give you a shot.
Coach 2: Billy Beane, baseball has kind of embraced him. [The] last couple of Springs, he’s come out and talk to us about the COVID stuff, and he would be open to it and will hear it. Who am I to pass judgment on anybody. I don’t think that’s right or fair. I’m kind of in a small bubble in my own life with what I have going on with my family and trying to take care of them. I don’t know what the issue or problem is. That’s kind of where I’m at with it.
If a player would come out to you personally, how would you react?
Player 1: I try to support them however I could, whatever it looked like and however they wanted me to show that support. I’d be there for them; I’d like to think I will be a guy who respects people no matter who they are.
Coach 1: Me personally, it wouldn’t have any bearing on whether or not that individual can play baseball or not play baseball. Whether I agree with that lifestyle or not, I can still love the individual and not agree with their lifestyle. I think that’s with society. We have to be about loving people and not judging things that we agree with and disagree with. Some things are outs not to judge. I am a Christian. I believe that God is the ultimate judge, and he’ll decide people’s fate. I’m not perfect, and no one is perfect, so who am I judge someone. I can love everyone, and that’s the way I look at it.
Player 2: My first reaction would be to support them however I could, I’m sure there would be plenty of praise and potentially some backlash, but I am hoping the positive would outweigh the negative. I can only imagine the pressure that can put on a person, and allowing someone to be who they are should be second nature. Happy teammates play better baseball!
Coach 2: The only thing you can do is support them. Either way, we support in this environment. We support people who have off-the-field issues, family issues, with a bunch of different things. I feel the best way to support any way you can. We’re all people; we’re all created the same. I feel whatever the challenges, you embrace them. You say how can I help or what can I do, and show them you care.
Minute Maid Park. Credit: Levi Weaver – The Athletic
Have you had a teammate or a player came out personally to you?
Player 1: I have not.
Coach 1: I’ve never had a player come out, but I’ve had really, really, really close friends. People I’ve considered brothers that are gay, and that’s not my preference based on my belief biblically, but I still love the individual.
Player 2: I have not, to my knowledge, ever had a teammate or former teammate come out as gay.
Coach 2: No, not off the top of my head.
It appears baseball is ready from the responses, and teammates would embrace it if a player comes out. Sports consist of individuals with different backgrounds and cultures with one common goal, to play baseball. In my honest opinion, Rangers players, coaches, media, etc., have treated me the same as two years ago (the same awkward self as I am and embrace). I can’t speak on the other 29 organizations and their viewpoint, but with this younger clubhouse, the Ranger players and coaches would accept with open arms. The lack of Pride night at Rangers’ ballpark doesn’t fall on the players. Happy Pride Month, everybody.
A little emotional for me today on this Sunday at Dodger Stadium for the Rangers vs #Dodgers#StraightUpTX
Today marks the one-year anniversary of me going public about who I am. The fact one year later I’m in LA for pride weekend covering games brings so much joy. #Pride2021pic.twitter.com/5jkUxkRI2U
Credentialed Media Staff Writer covering the Texas Rangers for Dallas Sports Fanatic | 2014 University of North Texas graduate with a Bachelor’s in Radio, Television, and Film. I talk about things. Find me on the tweeter @aplinckTX
McDonough pledged to overcome a “dark history” of discrimination and take steps to expand access to care for transgender veterans at a Pride Month event in Orlando, which this month marked the fifth anniversary of a mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub, that left 49 people dead. The VA plans to begin the two-year process this summer, a VA spokesman confirmed.
One man was killed and another injured after two people were hit by a truck at a South Florida gay pride march on Saturday evening.
The incident took place at the Stonewall Pride Parade & Street Festival in Wilton Manors, just north of Fort Lauderdale. It came right before the start of the parade.
“What started as a celebration quickly turned to tragedy at today’s Stonewall Pride Parade,” Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony said in a statement. “Though authorities are still gathering information, we know two individuals marching to celebrate inclusion and equality were struck by a vehicle. One person has died and the other remains hospitalized.”
“This tragedy took place within feet of me and my BSO team, and we are devastated having witnessed this horrific incident,” Gregory added. “I’m proud of all the BSO and local first responders who leaped into action, running into the unknown and instantly provided care for the victims.”
Both individuals were taken to Broward Health Medical Center, where one was pronounced dead. Officials said the other man was expected to survive.
Authorities are still investigating whether it was an accident or deliberate act. The driver was taken into custody for questioning, according to police. The truck hit a nearby gate and came to a stop.
“The investigation is active and we were evaluating all possibilities,” Fort Lauderdale police spokesperson Detective Ali Adamson said at a press conference. “Nothing is out of the question right now, we have to look at all angles and that’s what we are doing.”
“The FBI is involved in an effort to do a thorough and complete investigation,” Adamson added.
The vehicle also narrowly missed hitting a convertible that Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., was riding in, WPLG reported.
“I am deeply shaken and devastated that a life was lost and others seriously injured at tonight’s @WiltonManorsCty Stonewall #Pride Parade. My staff, volunteers and I are thankfully safe,” she wrote on Twitter.
An emotional Wasserman Schultz, who has represented the 23rd Congressional District since 2013, could be seen making calls and being consoled by staffers afterward.
“We’re praying for the victims and their loved ones as law enforcement investigates, and I am providing them with whatever assistance I can,” Wasserman Schultz added. “I am so heartbroken by what took place at this celebration. May the memory of the life lost be for a blessing.”
The parade was scheduled to start at 7 p.m., but the incident took place just beforehand. It was canceled after the crash, according to Wilton Manors police, though the festival continued.
ABC News’ Matt Foster and Victor Oquendo contributed to this report.
Amid the nationwide celebrations of the first federally recognized Juneteenth is a call to action to protect voting rights as many Republican-led states move to restrict access to the ballot box. Host of MSNBC’s American Voices Alicia Menendez speaks with Reverend William Barber II the second, president of “Repairers of the Breach” and co-chair of the “Poor People’s Campaign”, Judith Browne Dianis, executive director of the “Advancement Project National Office”, and Latosha Brown, co-founder of the “Black
NEW: Double your donation to set free the 11 LGBT prisoners. An anonymous donor has agreed to match future donations 1-1 up to a total of $1,000. Please donate in response to this offer, which has the potential to move us almost all the way to our goal of feeding and freeing each of the 11 victims of Cameroonian homophobia.
Evan, Kane, Roro, Gold, Medgar, Dylan, Nick and Allen are locked up in Cameroon’s Yaoundé Central Prison, serving sentences for whom and how they love. You can help get them out.
Those eight gay and lesbian Cameroonians are serving sentences ranging from 18 months to two years after being convicted on homosexuality charges between May 17, 2019, and Oct. 19, 2020, amid the nation’s ongoing crackdown on its LGBT citizens. After their prison sentences end, they will go free — but only if they can pay fines and court costs ranging from $315 to $370 that were imposed on them as part of their sentences.
None of them has the money to pay those fines, so they face the prospect of working off the fines by remaining a further four to six months in their cells.
Yaoundé Central Prison — exterior
That’s where you come in. Project Not Alone 2021, organized by the Erasing 76 Crimes news site, is raising money to pay their fines and set them free early. The financial sponsor for the project is the St. Paul’s Foundation for International Reconciliation, which supports LGBTQ+ rights advocacy journalism, including the Erasing 76 Crimes news site.
Project Not Alone 2021 is also raising money for deliveries of food and hygiene items for LGBT prisoners because the dirty, crowded prison forces inmates to live on one small meal per day. The deliveries will be made by activists from Erasing 76 Crimes and the local LGBTQ advocacy group Camfaids.
The project is also seeking funds to pay the expenses for attorneys from Defenders Without Borders who have agreed to work pro bono to defend three other imprisoned victims of Cameroon’s homophobia. The three are Ford and Bill, a gay couple who have been at the prison awaiting trial since March 2020, and Nicky, a trans man who has been imprisoned there without trial since February 2020.
None of the 11 prisoners has been charged with any criminal offenses other than homosexuality.
Project Not Alone 2021 is seeking $7,226. That’s $3,014 to pay the eight LGBT men’s fines; $1,982 for a series of four bimonthly deliveries of food and hygiene items to all 11 LGBT prisoners; and $2,230 for the expenses of pro-bono legal representation for Ford, Bill and Nicky. (For each of those three men, the estimated legal expenses include $367 for initial court filings and copies of court documents, $321 in fees and other follow-up expenses, and $55 for a required security deposit. Their attorneys will work for free.)
U.S. tax-deductible donations to Project Not Alone 2021 may be made via:
By sending a check to St. Paul’s Foundation, 21 Marseille, Laguna Niguel CA 92677 USA.) Please write “Project Not Alone” on the memo line.
As of June 17, a total of $4,255 had been donated to the project, leaving a shortfall of $2,971.
These articles tell the stories of some of the LGBT prisoners at Yaoundé Central Prison:
Links to articles about the previous three phases of Project Not Alone are below.
This design of three women behind bars represented the three prisoners at Bertoua Central Prison who were helped in Phase 3 of the Not Alone / Pas Seul Project.
Articles about Phase 3 of the Not Alone / Pas Seul Project in eastern Cameroon
These images represented the three gay prisoners in northern Cameroon who were freed early through the work of Phase 2 of the Not Alone / Pas Seul project and its donors.
Articles about Phase 2 of the Not Alone / Pas Seul Project in northern Cameroon:
These images represented the three gay prisoners in Yaounde in 2018, whose only crime was being gay. In the first phase of the Not Alone / Pas Seul project, they received much-needed deliveries of food and hygiene supplies.
Articles about Phase 1 of the Not Alone / Pas Seul Project in Yaoundé:
A gay psychologist who worked at the NHS’s only gender transition clinic for children spoke of his fears that the clinic was running “conversion therapy for gay kids”.
Dr Matt Bristow said he feared the Tavistock and Portman NHS trust was ignoring the possibility that boys and girls who said they wanted to change sex might simply be gay.
Bristow’s claim has emerged in witness statements for Sonia Appleby, a psychotherapist responsible for safeguarding children at the gender identity clinic, who is suing the trust.
She told an employment tribunal last week she was “vilified” for raising concerns about the safety of children undergoing treatment, which included the clinic referring children as young as 12 for puberty blocking drugs.
Evanston commemorated the abolition of slavery with a parade and community celebration on Juneteenth — June 19, the day on which the abolition of slavery is annually celebrated — complete with art, music, and food at a local park.
There will also be a Gay Pride parade next Saturday, June 26.
The city, however, has canceled its July 4th live celebration over COVID-19, and has not indicated that it will hold similar festivities to honor America’s birthday.
My home town of Evanston, Illinois is having a Juneteenth Parade and a Gay Pride Parade, but is cancelling the 4th… https://t.co/mrfp1KsFZU
The Evanston Fourth of July Celebration explained in late March:
Based on concern for public health due to the unpredictability of the pandemic’s impact, vaccination rates, and in cooperation with our local authorities, the Trustees of the Evanston Fourth of July Association voted to cancel the Fun Run, Parade, Palatine Concert Band performance and Lakefront Fireworks show on July 4, 2021. However, we are committed and already working toward an Independence Day celebration that will be safe, creative and build community.
Monthly podcasts began in late 2019 titled “Celebrating a Century –The 4th of July in Evanston which will continue and can be heard on your personal devices. If guidelines allow, the Association plans to conduct the traditional morning games and activities in the parks and schools. The 2020 Virtual 4th of July celebration with a parade, concert and fireworks is ready to be replayed. The Celebration Team is considering mini concerts, roving entertainment, neighborhood art and decoration projects to provide the community with a day to remember.
What about reparations?
Evanston grabbed headlines earlier this year after approving the nation’s first reparations program. The city will distribute $10 million over the next decade.
The program will officially begin distributing funds in the form of $25,000 payments “to a small number of eligible Black residents for home down payments, mortgage payments or home repairs,” WLS-TV reported.
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These images represented the three gay prisoners in Yaounde in 2018, whose only crime was being gay. In the first phase of the Not Alone / Pas Seul project, they received much-needed deliveries of food and hygiene supplies.
