Sylvia Rivera once said that there can be no Pride for some of us without liberation for all, and we are seeing more and more the deprioritising of Trans rights due to the apathetic leadership of cisgender individuals.
In the UK, the Transgender community is in a very precarious position, we are seeing people and groups using their entire resources to win a “debate” over our existence.
We have seen our Government try to rewrite the equality act and try to enact a new section 28 specifically for the purpose of targeting Trans children.
After decades of relative peace, the efficacy of the Equality act and the existence of Trans people as a whole has been called into question.
As a Non Profit Group, we, Hull Pledge, work tirelessly to minimise the local effects of this country's rampant transphobia to ensure those in our city are safe, and feel safe.
Despite this we of course meet hurdles such as MPs appearing alongside Trans Exclusionary Hate Groups.
However, we didn't expect to meet such upsetting hurdles coming from within the LGBTQIA+ community itself.
Over the course of our activity, we have tried to work with pride in Hull on numerous occasions and as you all will have seen we have also tried to encourage them to follow in the footsteps of other Pride Organisations to ensure that those who don't have our communities best interests at heart don't gain access to our communities events.
However, it has been made clear to us at every turn that Pride in Hull prioritises their connections over the wellbeing of the Trans+ community in Hull, and refuse to work with us as we hold those who are failing to support the community to account, we have been told that if we do our work as Hull Pledge in or near Pride in Hull’s events then they will ask the police to move us on. This is not normal. A pride organisation, telling a Trans Rights Group, that they will have the police move us on if we support our community near their events.
The lack of respect we have been shown as an organisation since our inception has been bizarre, from insulting emails, to censorship at vigils. LGBTQIA+ Pride Groups have a responsibility to represent everybody in the community, and not just the interests of those on the committee.
For these reasons, Hull Pledge will not be in attendance at Pride in Hull this year, or any year as long as this situation continues. With that being said we encourage you to engage with events by LGBTQIA+ groups in the city such as Trans Hull who are organising banner and placard making events in order to bring the true spirit of pride back.
While we won't be at this annual event, you will see us year round arranging street safety workshops, organising protests, engaging with local Politicians, advocating for Hate Crime Victims with the Police, and meeting you to see what we can do to make this city safer. It’s not about Brands, it's not about Political Networking, it's not about funding. It's about respect, safety, and liberation.
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