LGBTIQA+ Pride , protest and community building..

 

LGBTIQA+ Pride 

Guyana Trans United held a panel discussion "Prideful Stories: Honouring our history, Confronting Injustice" to start off their Pride 2025 celebrations. 

Twinkle Aria and Candacy McEwan led the discussion which is available on streamyard.  

Twinkle shared the story about the protest against the homophobic attitude of the police in June 1969 around the Stonewall Inn in New York. She invoked the memory of Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, two transgender activists who were active in the protests (called riots). 

In June 1970, the first Pride marches were held to remember those riots and to advocate for equality. 

Guyana

In July 1959, in British Guiana, there was a different kind of street activity when as the Sunday Graphic reported, there was an 'all male wedding' but the police did not stop the cutting of the cake. The shadow of police harassment is reported, even as the transgender and 'gay' community would have gathered.

Protest 

Over the years, police harassed the mostly transgender citizens who were visible, using the 'cross-dressing' and 'loitering' laws. In 2009, four transgender citizens in Guyana filed a constitutional motion with SASOD to declare the laws unjust. Meanwhile, Guyana Trans United had to protest against attitudes of the police and of a Magistrate.  

In the panel discussion, Twinkle Aria  reflected that it was not only the transgender community who have issues with policing in Guyana. She reflected the importance of the case - that it is indeed the only time a law has been deemed unconstitutional and resulted in the removal from the law books in 2021.

 A long, tedious, possibly expensive process from 2009 to 2021 . (and there were objections from PNC MPs still ). And the buggery laws remain, and Guyana's prevention of discrimination legislation does not recognise sexual orientation or gender identity as grounds for discrimination.

The Government/Parliament though, has passed legislation quickly to deal with many things - including those which are potentially unconstitutional and which would not improve the protection of human rights of citizens.  Even as some lesbian, gay and bisexual citizens on my social media are proud supporters of the PPP/C (and a few the PNC), the support is not mutual it seems in terms of human rights and equality, but perhaps livelihood and political connections which perpetuate injustice.

 

 Community

 Twinkle and Candacy shared in the stories about the importance of community , and their experiences of how community had to help with safety and security, housing, and access to justice.  

Twinkle also spoke about how injustice affects many of us, regardless of our sexual orientation and gender identity. The calls for Justice for Adrianna Younge remind us that there are no guarantees for any of us. And Twinkle talked about working with people 'who might not agree with transgender' but who facing similar injustices.

So community is not just the LGBTIQA+ community (which might not include those  LGBTIQA+ citizens who deh good with the Government and so), but community across difference who have to live in the same place, face similar problems.  Some of us might think we deh good, and that other people complain too much or not working hard enough or deserve the abuse or violence.

Guyana Trans United has reminded us in these times of that importance of coming together because,  the Martin Luther King Jr quote "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”   

And that coming together would be the biggest protest against the injustice in Guyana.