A world where LGBTQ+ people are free to live and love without prejudice cannot exist without the social liberation of people of colour.

From Ted Brown to Lady Phyll, queer, trans and intersex people of colour (QTIPOC) have been leaders in freedom and resistance movements fighting for social justice from the get-go. And yet today, these communities face additional oppressions, even within the LGBTQ+ community. According to Stonewall, over half of BAME LGBT people face discrimination and poor treatment within the LGBT community, a figure that jumps to 61% for Black LGBT people specifically, and includes exclusion from LGBTQ+ spaces, hurtful comments, and racist language and behaviour from both other LGBTQ+ individuals and groups.

At Manchester Pride, we believe in intersectional queer liberation.

Manchester Pride Festival 2021 was our most diverse Pride celebration ever, with almost 40% of our artists identifying as people of colour. In all of the work we do throughout the year, we are dedicated to fighting racism, allocating funds and resources to grassroots organisations that directly support intersectionally marginalised communities; promoting the work and voices of QTIPOC leaders, artists and organisations; and demanding improved equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives and policies from the corporations we work with through our All Equals Charter accreditation programme. 

Did you know? 

Manchester Pride was the first UK Pride to adopt the black and brown stripes to our flag to highlight systemic racism in the LGBTQ+ community, promote intersectional liberation in Greater Manchester, and to ensure QTIPOC are platformed, visibly represented and celebrated. In 2020, we added the pink, white and blue stripes to do the same for trans communities. Listen to a special podcast with our friends at A Gay and a Non Gay on our decision to adopt the black and brown stripe.

QTIPOC Liberation Resources

Manchester Pride has created a series of resources to continue our efforts to fight racism within the LGBTQ+ community and to celebrate the talents of Black LGBTQ+ people, past and present. Manchester has an incredible history of resistance movements and social activism, and while progress has certainly been made in some areas, so much more work needs to be done to better support the liberation of our QTIPOC community. Systems of white supremacy and racism were created by white people, and so destroying and restructuring these systems cannot be the sole responsibility of people of colour. Rather, we must all do our part in this fight, and work together for the intersectional liberation of all. As such, we’ve put together some resources, information and recommendations to celebrate and honour Black LGBTQ+ people and their talents, knowledge and contributions, both today and throughout history.

Check out the different resources available on our website designed to help diversify your reading & research, support you on your journey to anti-racism and help to provide the tools needed for us all to better advocate for equality and liberation for queer, trans and intersex people of colour.

Authored by:
Phoebe Woodall and Dr. Christopher Owen