Black Pride Ireland has been set up “by queer Black people, for Black LGBTQIA+ folks on the island of Ireland”.

Black LGBT+ Pride is a global movement which started in the 1990s as a way to provide Black LGBT+ people with an alternative to the largely white mainstream LGBT+ movement.

The Irish Black Pride movement aims to create safe spaces that is accessible to Black LGBT+ people living in Ireland.

https://twitter.com/BlackPrideIre/status/1157342310658695169?s=20

Over the weekend, they released their manifesto sharing what they stand for and against:

“We are dedicated to the nurturing and uplifting of queer Black people in Ireland.

“We are frequently failed by the structures we exist in and are beholden to – the immigration system, the HSE, educational institutions, workplaces – and we felt it important to create places where queer Black people could air their grievances about these structures without fear of losing their jobs or being deported.”

They plan on running events specifically catered to Ireland’s queer Black community such as talks, workshops, lectures and social gatherings.

The movement is dedicated to becoming a safe haven, “providing respite form homophobic family members and the racist structures we’re forced to navigate”.

They also stand in condemnation of the Direct Provision system.

https://twitter.com/BlackPrideIre/status/1157705951455195136?s=20

Direct Provision was set up as a temporary way to house asylum seekers while the government came up with a better long-term solution.

That was 18 years ago and currently, over 5,000 people live in 34 direct provision centres across Ireland with little to no national standard of living established.

“We stand in full support of some of the most vulnerable members of our community; that is, Black trans women and queer Black migrants and refugees.

“We wholly condemn the national travesty that is Direct Provision, and the ways in which the Irish healthcare system maltreats Black LGBTQIA+ people.”

They conclude their manifesto saying:

“We hope to do ourselves and all Black LGBTQIA+ people in Ireland justice”.

Black Pride Ireland has hit the ground running and after marching in Galway Pride, they will co-host a secret afterparty with Origins Eile.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B0wDyNthX33/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

In the UK, Black Pride is Europe’s largest celebration for LGBT+ people of African, Asian, Caribbean, Latin American and Middle Eastern descent.

In the latest issue of GCN, Marco Dias shared the impact the event had on him as a queer person of colour and spoke to other attendees about why Black Pride is so necessary.

“The amount of trans black brothers and sisters I saw really touched me because they are usually so marginalised. Seeing them celebrating and enjoying themselves around every other nationality, every other colour – that really stayed in my mind.”

To keep up to date with Black Pride Ireland, follow them on Instagram and Twitter.