SECOND JOHANNESBURG PRIDE SET FOR 5 OCTOBER
Gay and lesbian Johannesburgers will be spoilt for choice this year. A second group planning to organise a Pride event in the city has set its date for Saturday 5 October, a week after the first.
The organising committee behind the event emerged from two public meetings hosted by the Forum for the Empowerment of Women (FEW) and the One in Nine Campaign during the past two months, attended by a broad range of activists and individuals.
The committee said in a statement that they plan to put on a “People’s Pride” for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, asexual, and queer (LGBTIAQ) community.
According to the organisers, there will be public art installations, performances, exhibitions, direct action, workshops, and debates over the months leading up to a march on October 5.
The event will be based around the “Pride manifesto” that came out of the group’s meetings.
The manifesto highlights “anti-racism, anti-capitalism, anti-sexism, anti-ableism, and the positioning of LGBTIAQ struggles within broader socio-political and economic contexts and struggles in South Africa, and globally”.
The organising committee said that the People’s Pride “is envisioned as an inclusive and explicitly political movement for social justice”.
The committee slammed previous Pride events that “catered, often explicitly, to affluent, mostly white individuals.
“This deliberate de-politicisation of Pride and emphasis on festivities for the affluent is a slap in the face of individuals from economically marginalised communities, particularly black lesbians and gender non-conforming people, whose lives are characterised by high levels of structural and interpersonal violence.
“In privileging corporate sponsorships and promoting the market value of such events, Pride ceased to be an inclusive space that was safe and accessible to all members of LGBTIAQ communities,” stated the committee.
It further said that it is in the process of creating a Pride calendar of events and actions will serve to:
ﾕ Build solidarity with other politically oriented Prides in the greater Johannesburg region and beyond, such as Soweto Pride and Ekurhuleni Pride;
ﾕ Educate and conscientise communities about the struggles that shape a range of experiences of being queer in South Africa;
ﾕ Honour the contributions and resilience of queer Africans;
ﾕ Celebrate the hard-won legislative freedoms we have today, recognising that none of us are free until all of us are substantively free; and
ﾕ Articulate demands for furthering social justice for all.
The organising committee noted that its meetings are open to all and hosted by Constitution Hill. In addition, mass meetings will be held regularly to ensure transparency and accountability.
Another Johannesburg Pride 2013 event has been scheduled to take place on Saturday 28 September in Newtown. Details can be found here.
Good luck. I think it is great that more events are happening. I do wonder how they get that previous Prides were mostly white and affluent? The last couple of Prides i attended, i thought they were pretty diverse, especially with regards to race, as well as safe? Also – it stands out from their statements that they seem to focus on black women’s issues and queers? Is that really a peoples pride and inclusive? And to have a range of events – funded by…..? Anyway – like i said, good luck! I hope all Pride events get the support they require to spread a message of love and diversity.
What a load of hog shit everyone is going on about. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the previous prides and also nothing wrong with the location. As far as I am concerned it was definately not just for white affluent people. Did you actually go to Zoo lake over the past 4 years, it was 50/50 white and black…….why we all have to bow down to silly lesbian agendas goes against the spirit of pride. It’s for everyone. Who wants to go to downton Joburg which is not safe no matter what anyone tells you. I will be boycotting this years events as it’s a bunch of egos once again. All we want to do is have fun and celebrate being gay. Once again it’s Africa at it’s absolute best, and I speak about white and black africans. We are so in our own heads, how we can complicate something so simple. Too many Victims darlings and far too many egos. We are now more fragmented than we’ve ever been. What a pitty.
Dumb asses
All inclusive? Sounds like that 1 in 9 crap that ruined real pride. No well wishes from me, fail!