Pride Parade Shines Despite Hurricane Beryl Delay: Bridgetown Celebrates Community Advocacy

Although Hurricane Beryl contributed to the postponement of a marquee pride event last month, there was no raining on the Pride Parade yesterday.

From around 3:30 p.m. scores of individuals from the LGBT community and various allies paraded through Bridgetown to culminate Pride Month, which is officially celebrated in June.

The parade was first scheduled to be held on June 30 with Luke Lascaris, chairman of Equals, the parade organisers, saying the spectacle was a way to celebrate the community’s achievements and continue its advocacy.

He acknowledged that some people may not appreciate the significance of the celebration, because they believe that the community did not face discrimination but Lascaris said that was not the case.

Stigma

“People still face discrimination and stigma. It was only in 2022 that the buggery law was struck down and it was recent that a law was put in place to make sure people can’t be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation,” he said.

Lascaris used an example about the way some people diminished or doubted the challenges that some minority groups face.

“For example, in an American setting, white people would say the same thing towards African Americans; ‘you’re not stigmatised, you’re not lynched and time has moved on’. People can say similar things toward the LGBT community here. . . but it is simply not true,” he added.