Arcadia Ireland

The annual Pride event in Dublin is exactly as you see it in the picture above. This was taken by one of our Summer students, Loren Thomas who attended during her Summer programme in Dublin in 2019. This year, sadly the physical gathering of people in cities across the world will not take place because of social distancing concerns. Instead, there will be an opportunity to attend a virtual global pride which will shine “historic, worldwide spotlight” on global diversity of LGBTQIA+ community. Check out Global Pride 2020 for more information and links to sign up for the event happening in just 3 days from now on the 27^th June!

I was inspired to think about the meaning of Pride when I read a recent piece written by my College of Global Studies colleague, Drew Villierme-Lightfoot. Drew is a Program Manager for England, Wales, and Chile. He shares some of the history of Pride Month and also some of the LGBTQ events that our students have participated in.

“Given the ongoing movement for black lives, it is important to reflect on the spirit and origins of Pride, the remarkable shifts in beliefs and understanding, the thought that societal power structures can and will change, and the historical reminder that the first gay pride was a riot.. It is important as well to reflect on the ongoing disparities experienced by queer people of color, who were on the front lines of the fight for LGBTQ rights from the movement’s origin, continue to experience an outsize impact of HIV, sexual violence, and police brutality, and remain overlooked in our collective revisions of LGBTQ history. This Pride, we have a duty to remember and honor queer people of color who made history, including Martha P. Johnson, a central figure in the Stonewall Riots”