UK BLACK PRIDE 2022: POWER

At UK Black Pride, we believe in the inherent and enduring power of LGBTQI+ Black people and people of colour to create the world we deserve to inhabit together. We do this in many ways, and UK Black Pride’s annual event is only one of them. Across the country, our communities have harnessed their power to stand up against police violence and draconian legislation. They have created spaces for healing, connection and warmth. And they have sought each other out to provide support, friendship and love when it seems the world wants nothing more than to crush us. We continue to demonstrate a collective power – a power that UK Black Pride recognises and wants to celebrate. 

Definitions of power vary and it’s no surprise that most understand what power is through the actions of colonisers, charlatans and those who work in ways detrimental to the lives and wellbeing of the communities UK Black Pride represents. We know all too well that even a little power in greedy hands results in violence, that power as we experience it from the “leaders” of our country leaves us all literally wanting and that this power is one we’re collectively committed to diminishing. As our communities continue to bear the brunt of injustice in this country – and beyond – we join all those demanding more: more justice, more safety, more support and more accountability.

But among its definitions, power is also defined more simply as “the ability to act or produce an effect” – a definition that our communities ennoble with love in action. UK Black Pride is eternally indebted to the loving power of the Black queer women who founded and maintain us, and to those who continue to show up in spirit and in flesh to ensure our communities have a pride celebration all their own. We are grateful to those who express power rooted in a firm belief that equality is not a pipe dream or a nice-to-have, and those who harness their power to positively impact the lives of those who have been left behind and forgotten. We honour the power our communities continue to wield to ensure that our communities are defended and supported, loved and protected. 

The world will continue to shift beneath our feet and we will continue fighting on uncertain terrain for our futures. And we will do this together, because our power is unique, beautiful and necessary. Our power will change the world. 

In power and solidarity,

Lady Phyll and the UK Black Pride team

UK Black Pride’s 2022 in-person celebration of our collective power will take place on Sunday, 14 August, 2022.