Hackney Town Hall raises inclusive Pride flag for the first time in borough’s history
The inclusive flag was raised on June 28 for the first time in the borough's history. Picture: Sean Pollock - Credit: Sean Pollock
The Mayor of Hackney will raise an inclusive rainbow flag over the Town Hall to mark the start of Pride Week.
Cllr Carole Williams, The Mayor of Hackney Phillip Glanville and Speaker of Hackney Cllr Kam Adams hold up the LGBTQI+ flag which has extra colours representing transgender people and queer people of colour. Picture: Sean Pollock - Credit: Sean Pollock
The flag includes extra colours to represent queer people of colour and trans people,
Mayor of Hackney Philip Glanville said: “Pride has its origins in the spirit of political protest so raising the inclusive Pride flag for the first time adds vital visibility to our borough’s commitment to equality, especially when trans rights are under attack and we need to reiterate that all LGBTQI+ Black Lives Matter.”
The flag recognises the diversity and intersectionality of the borough’s large lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer, intersex, asexual plus (LGBTQIA+) community.
Thousands gathered at Haggerston Park at Hackney's first UK Black Pride in 2019. Picture: Siorna Ashby - Credit: Archant
It will fly over the town hall for the first time in the borough’s history and mark the start of pride week which runs from June 28 to June 5.
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The council’s annual Hackney 365 event celebrating pride has been put on hold this year due to coronavirus so instead, it will support a nationwide, online series of events called Pride Inside organised by various organisations including Amnesty International and UK Black Pride.
The Mayor told the Gazette: “With social gatherings on hold, this year’s Hackney Pride 365 will sadly not go ahead but we’ll use this time to reflect on what progress we have made and what we can do to support LGBTQI+ going forward as new challenges are met due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Mayor of Hackney Phillip Glanville, Cllr Carole Williams and Speaker of Hackney Cllr Kam Adams outside Town Hall for the raising of an inclusive pride flag. Picture: Sean Pollock - Credit: Sean Pollock
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“We know how important our cultural spaces and health resources are to our LGBTQI+ residents and acknowledge the threat they now face. This is why we’ll use our online resources to support and signpost the important work they do, alongside the excellent program of events at Pride Inside. I look forward to raising the flag and working with our community to curate an exciting Pride365 2021.”
The council hopes to further develop its LGBTQIA+ staff forum to work with the community to develop next years Pride 365 programme. initiatives the council has already taken to “inspire inclusivity across the borough” include gender-neutral toilets at London Fields Lido, rainbow crossings on Hackney streets and partnering with leading LGBTQIA+ businesses and event orgnisers like Fringe! and Too Black Too Queer.
Pride was first organised to commemorate the Stonewall riots which happened a year earlier in New York in 1969. The riots involved a series of violent confrontations between police and gay rights activists outside the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar, in New York.
For more information about Pride Inside click here
A full rundown of highlights from previous Hackney Pride 365 programmes can be found here
