Bermuda Pride — the island’s first ever LGBTQI+ Pride celebration — is set to take place on Saturday, August 31st under a theme of ‘We Belong’.
Bermuda Pride 2019 is timed to coincide with the 25 thanniversary of the Stubbs’ Bill, which amended the country’s Criminal Code and partially decriminalized homosexuality.
The organizers of Bermuda Pride 2019 said they “believe there is much that can be learned from the common experiences of LGBTQI+ people in current and former British territories, particularly in relation to how homophobic colonial era laws have shaped expressions of LGBTQI+ identities in the region.”
The organizers will host a panel discussion on the eve of Pride entitled ‘Free to be Me’, which explores the LGBTQI+ experience across the English-speaking Caribbean.
The event is produced in partnership with the Hamilton Princess Hotel, and will take place at the hotel on the Friday evening. Guest speakers, who will also join the Bermuda Pride celebrations the next day, are:
- Jaevion Nelson, Executive Director of J-FLAG, the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays
- Ro-Ann Mohommad, Co-founder of B-GLAD, Barbados – Gays, Lesbians and All-Sexuals against Discrimination, and organizer of Barbados’ LGBTQI Pride;
- Rudolph [Rudy] Hanamji, Chair of Pride Trinidad & Tobago; and
- Dr. Natassia Rambarran, Public Health Advocate at SASOD, the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination in Guyana.
Pride in the Park takes place at Victoria Park on Saturday, August 31st, beginning at 10:30am.
It is designed to be a fun, family friendly event, and is open to anyone who believes in the inherent worth of all people, and wishes to celebrate Bermuda’s LGBTQI+ people in a positive and affirming space.
A parade through the City of Hamilton will depart from and return to the park in the afternoon.
This year’s theme is ‘We Belong’. It has been chosen to signify that it is time for Bermuda’s LGBTQI+ people to publicly and unapologetically assert their citizenship in their homeland.
The logo started with the familiar Bermudian symbol of the moongate.
This symbol which is associated with traditional union is then exploded, transformed – made more – and radiates the pride colours turning the symbol into something new, like dawn sunshine. The colours of the blocks [beams] take abstract forms that suggest both bold celebration and unity and Pride.
The Bermuda Pride 2019 logo includes an additional black and an additional brown stripe, which represents inclusion of people of colour within the Pride movement.
In organizing Bermuda’s first ever Pride the organizers believe it is important to include the additional stripes in the rainbow, particularly since we as a country have both a majority black population but also a long history of racism.
Specifically, the organizers wanted to include the stripes to bring attention to the need for the LGBTQI+ community as a whole to fight not only for specific LGBTQI+ rights such as equal marriage but to also campaign on other issues that affect LGBTQI+ people, including racism, sexism and economic inequality.
Bermuda Pride 2019 is proud to embrace the fight against all forms of discrimination.
The organizers are also indebted to the generosity of those individuals and companies that have stepped forward with offers of financial support or support in kind to make this event a reality. These include OUTBermuda, Butterfield Bank, the Bird Cage, the BTA, and the Hamilton Princess.
For more information, please see www.bermudapride.net.
