If you also grew up queer, you know how alienating it is to grow up with no real visible role models to look up to. For me, it was this frustration that empowered me to craft a version of myself that reflected who I wanted to be in the world. Not who I was told to be.
Now more than ever, I long to know of those who have walked in my shoes and fought the battles that I’m also fighting. Even as they appear new and exclusive to me.
I am excited for this year’s Pride Afrique Parade that I’ll be co-hosting because it is a call to all the queer heroes who have come before us and fought the good fight. The fight that has shaped this very present moment we find ourselves in.
We will be calling on the love, the courage and the strength of all the queer heroes and ancestors, as we fight to make this moment better for ourselves and those who come after us.
Inaugurated last year during the pandemic lockdown, Pride Afrique returns this year once again as a virtual platform to celebrate and uplift LGBTQIA+ persons and groups across the African continent and the diaspora.
We will broadcast the event live on Facebook and YouTube on August 14, 2021 at 6 pm South African time. Visit prideafrique.org for the link and more. The event highlights personal stories through multiple digital media content, and in diverse languages.
Our theme is ‘Stay The Night’ — a call to honour our resilience. Stay The Night, taken from the theme song by Dwin the Stoic, celebrates the fact that we are here despite the continued attacks on our personhood.
If you decide to join us, you will be in the company of key leaders and voices from the regions, sharing their stories of resilience aimed at inspiring others.
We also want to hear from you. We have created and opened up a virtual Pride Afrique recording booth on prideafrique21.capsule.video where you could record your message of solidarity, inspiration, or encouragement to queer Africans.
This year has seen an unprecedented rise in attacks on the queer persons on the continent — from Ghana, Uganda, Cameroon, South Africa and Senegal.
We’ve witnessed state-sponsored discrimination and social stigma, and we recognize the traumas these attacks have caused to the community both at home and abroad.
We are inviting you to create a community aimed at supporting and empowering queer Africans. Come and hear from the activists on the ground. It might inspire you to help our community build better.
Yet again, this year’s event prides itself in being wholly community-led and 100% volunteer-driven.
We are looking forward to the participation and attendance of LGBTQI+ queer Africans, allies, and various institutions that care about the various plights of our people.
