June 1st marks the beginning of Pride Month in the USA and UK, but this year we’re all celebrating Pride in a slightly different way. There will be no march at Trafalgar Square, no rainbow freebies thrown from floats, and certainly no parties afterwards. However, some believe that this may provide an opportunity to return to the true meaning of Pride, away from the commercialisation which has coloured so many Pride events in recent years. Below, we’ve included some ideas to celebrate pride in lockdown and we hope you will celebrate with us virtually this year.
How to Celebrate Pride Digitally
Join Pride in London’s digital community hub! Pride is hoping to use the digital sphere to spark communities into making 30 000 Acts of Allyship to better support our LGBTQ+ community. You can find out more here
Engage in LGBTQ+ media! We have a large range of LGBTQ+ books for people of all ages on cloudlibrary which are free to download with your RBKC library card. Access cloudlibrary here . To join the library and access our digital content, please click here .
Join an online group! Organisations such as LGBT Foundation, Terrence Higgins Trust and Galop are holding number of workshops, events and support sessions via Zoom to keep our community connected at this time.
Make something rainbow! Now is the perfect time to get crafty and, if you are able and/or out, display your craft to show your allyship.
Resources to learn more about LGBTQ+ identities and Allyship
https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/ -resource for trans children and young people and their families
https://www.stonewall.org.uk/ -campaign group fighting for LGBTQ+ rights in the U.K.
https://www.justlikeus.org/ -LGBTQ+ charity for young people which empowers LGBTQ+ youth and provides volunteering and education opportunities.
https://thebeyouproject.co.uk/resources/ -Advice service for LGBTQ+ young people
There are many more resources out there and these websites have links to further reading if you would like to read further or find out how to access support.
If you need immediate emotional support, we urge you to contact Samaritans at https://www.samaritans.org/
116 123
