assert that insofar as only some of us are substantively free, then none of us can be free which is why there can be no cause for celebration until ALL of us are free.
CITIES People’s PrideSaturday 5 October
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eople’s Pride will be hosting a series of activities in the lead up to the focal event, which will be the Protest Celebration March on Saturday 5 October. The March will be setting off from Constitution Hill at 11.00am while people should begin gathering at 10.00am. Sekoetlane Phamodi from the People’s Pride Media Team said that in setting the route, “we looked to revisiting the historic Pride route as well as chartering a new route which crossed sites which represent significant struggles and victories for LGBTIAQ people in Johannesburg and South Africa as a whole.” Constitution Hill is a significant place to “recognise the hard won legislative tools that can be accessed by LGBTIAQ people in securing their right and material ability to live secure, full and dignified lives in South Africa”. The March will proceed to Hillbrow Police Station to highlight the problems gay people face when dealing with the police, who are often the first point of contact for people seeking justice, protection and redress. “For socio-economically marginalised members of the LGBTIAQ community, particularly black lesbians and transgender people living in townships, the police are rarely sources of protection and security” said Sekoetlane. “Lesbians often face secondary victimisation, abusive and intrusive questioning by police personnel or even an outright denial of services when they try to report instances of violence or violation. Even when the police register cases, poor investigation, carelessness and a lack of interest result in no arrests or convictions”. The next stop will be Simon Nkoli Corner at the intersection of Twist and Pretoria Streets, so named by the City of Johannesburg in 1999 to commemorate gay rights activist Simon Nkoli (see story on page 18). Nkoli, along with Donné Rundle, Beverly Ditsie and Roy Shepherd, was one of the organisers of the first Johannesburg Pride in 1990, so it is fitting that the people who raised
the clarion call to oppose all injustice, be remembered. The March will then continue to Hillbrow Clinic and through Joubert Park to Cosatu House, and finally through the Johannesburg Civic Centre “to reclaim the City of Johannesburg as our own and demand that it do more to ensure our safety and quality services not just in the suburbs but also in the underserviced lokshins in which we are so often told to go back to.” The March will then make its way back to Constitution Hill where it will end. We asked the People’s Pride some specific questions which Sekoetlane Phamodi answered for us: OUT: The People’s Pride Manifesto calls for a Political March with a clear political objective. What is that objective? SP: Our objective is to draw attention to the struggles which countless LGBTIAQ people in Johannesburg and South Africa have to negotiate on a daily basis; to interrogate who has access to the many hard-won victories for LGBTIAQ people in South Africa and why it is only they who enjoy them; to realise a society in which ALL LGBTIAQ bodies in Johannesburg and South Africa recognise and fervently oppose all injustice; and to demand that we ALL have equal and full access to the enjoyment of full and dignified lives. OUT: It [the manifesto] is critical of the fun aspects of Pride events in the past. Although we still face issues or violence, corrective rape, discrimination etc., some people say that we do have a lot to celebrate when compared to other African countries, or even European countries such as Russia. Why shouldn’t Pride be a celebration as well as a political statement? Are they mutually exclusive? SP: Our position has always been that ours is a protest celebration. While we recognise that many LGBTIAQ people in South Africa enjoy extensive enjoyment of the promise of the Constitution, we remain critical of the fact that that enjoyment, like most else in South Africa, is distinctly articulated across racial, gender and class lines. We, therefore,
OUT: The organisers of Johannesburg Pride on 28 September have already made changes to some of the things that the Manifesto is critical of, such as taking the march out of Rosebank and into the city, and seem to have many of the same aims as the People’s Pride. Was there no way that some of the differences could be settled to prevent the situation where there are now two Prides in Johannesburg being organised within the space of one week? SP: We are of the firm belief that Johannesburg is for all of us, but that some of our struggles may not be the same. While we firmly believe in collaboration and the building of alliances across LGBTIAQ communities and beyond, we are also very critical of the creation of a singular LGBTIAQ face and voice which purports to speak for all LGBTIAQ people. We believe that there should be many Prides in all parts of Johannesburg and beyond which highlight all of our struggles and give voice to all of our respective communities. This is just one way in which we can start that kind of engagement. People’s Pride will be showing their support at other Pride events in and around Johannesburg, including Ekurhuleni Pride on 21 September and Soweto Pride on 28 September. When asked to comment on the news that Pretoria Pride will be now be happening on the same day at the People’s Pride we were told: “Although it would be lovely to represent the People’s Pride Movement at Pretoria Pride, we need all the possible people power, volunteers etc. to help host the People’s Pride. As always people are free to attend whichever Pride they want. For those people who want to actively engage with issues affecting them as Queer Bodies then People’s Pride is the place to be, as a platform and opportunity has been created where those suppressed voices can be heard.” For updated information visit www.peoplespride.org,za or JBG People’s Pride on Facebook PS: In our last issue we wrote about the first Pretoria Pride originally planned for 7 September. It has now apparently been moved to Saturday 5 October, on the same day as People’s Pride. At time of going to press, the organisers of Pretoria Pride had not responded to any of our questions. Mag 11