UK Black Pride Statement 2024
UK Black Pride (UKBP) is an organisation for our community, by our community, UKBP is the largest of its kind among the 200 Pride events held across the UK every year. Without the support of sponsors, partners, and allies, we won’t be able to have a pride event. We have been in existence for 19 years and run solely by volunteers. For 19 years, we have been raising funds to provide a free and annual pride celebration for LGBTQIA+ Black and POC members to feel safe, heal, and nurture one another, whilst celebrating who we are unapologetically with joy. Those familiar with our history-herstory-theirstory know the struggle of securing funding and support as a Black Pride celebration in a society still rife with systemic racism and hate towards the global majority, asylum seekers, and refugees. Despite the lack of space and equity for pride celebrations like ours, we continue to host an intersectional accessible event.
Over the years, UK Black Pride has engaged with sponsors and partners who align with our values of diversity, equity, and human rights. Behind the scenes and throughout the years, UK Black Pride has advocated for equality and queer liberation worldwide. We believe in various forms of activism and ways to create change. We do this by encouraging open dialogue and peaceful resolutions with our sponsors and partners in all global conflicts. We continue to grow and learn with our communities, actively challenging sponsors to ensure we stay true to our core principles. These internal engagements and conversations help move the organisation forward as we push for change by targeting decision-makers in business on a larger scale. Bringing together allies and LGBTQIA+ members is also essential for our pride movement.
This year's theme of Freedom & Justice addresses global injustices, including the rise of racism, fascism, and violence in the UK. UK Black Pride has called for a ceasefire and the liberation of Palestinians, alongside demands for peace in South Sudan, an end to genocide in Ethiopia, Congo, Myanmar, and Yemen, and a resolution to the crisis in Haiti. We stress the urgent need to prevent and prosecute genocidal acts, strengthen international laws, provide humanitarian aid, and support reconciliation efforts. As an international community, we must continually challenge these injustices and actively support the fight for equality and liberation—whether through boycotting, collaborating with organisations, or partnering with sponsors to bring about change and resolutions.
We hear and acknowledge the comments regarding particular sponsors at this year’s event. We know they come from a place of love and the high expectations held for UK Black Pride in our community. However, some information circulated about the sponsors we have worked with this year is inaccurate, and there are sponsors named with whom we did not partner. Through our vetting process, we have rejected multiple sponsors directly linked to the genocide in Palestine or those who do not align with our values. Practising activism in a capitalist economy is always a challenge. While we are unable to respond to everyone, we will hold space to discuss how we can continue to learn and grow. As a volunteer-led organisation, we often don't have the resources and capacity that we need. Leading up to the event, we prioritised ensuring the safety of our community amidst increased concerns of violence and hate on our streets.
Sadly, we don’t always confirm all sponsors ahead of time, and sometimes partners join late to support the event. We recognise our failings in not announcing our sponsors sooner and hold ourselves accountable to do better in the future. Every year, UK Black Pride gets bigger and costs more to run. We are always working on new ways to support the event to continue making UK Black Pride a political movement. We welcome new funding streams and alternative ways to keep UK Black Pride free and accessible for our community.
Over the last 19 years UK Black Pride has gone from a handful of people with no sponsor to providing a space where more than 20,000 people to come together people who are often in the closet, excluded, persecuted, vilified, demonised and this is one of the only spaces in the UK for Black & PoC queer people to come and celebrate together in a safe space.
We will ensure that we carry out greater due diligence and adopt an ethical funding policy from Blossom LGBT, we also absolutely welcome constructive criticism and are happy to engage with people who want to help us advance our mission.
Thank you to all of you who were able to celebrate with us this year. We can't wait to welcome you for our 20th anniversary in 2025.
In Pride and Solidarity,
UK Black Pride