LGBTQ DIGITAL PRIDE AND MIGRATION 2020 will commemorate the struggles of displaced people and LGBTQ Refugees and is scheduled this year for World Refugee Day, which is celebrated annually on June 20th.
World Refugee Day commemorates the struggles of millions of displaced people. The significant population of displaced people who identify as LGBTQI underscores the importance of celebrating the diversity of pride and migration:
African Human Rights Coalition (AHRC) is pleased to announce its participation in the Digital Pride 2020 for LGBTQI Migrants, where we will be launching and Premiering our KAKUMA PRIDE VIDEO message through our collaborative production with LGBTQI refugees in Kakuma Camp, Kenya.
As the thoughts of LGBTQI communities worldwide move to digital celebrations of pride, one section of the community that is deeply affected are LGBTQI refugees. Globally, LGBTQI refugees face rejection from family, authoritarian governments, and laws that criminalize LGBTQI people. In more than 70+ countries, being gay is punishable by law, which further drives LGBTQ people to migrate to safer environments in other countries.
LGBTQ Digital Pride and Migration 2020 is presented by RDJ Refugee Shelter in collaboration with Asylum Connect, the National Queer Theater, Dixon place, Majors office of immigrant affairs, the Brooklyn Community Pride Center, the Black LGBTQ Migrant Project, African Human Rights Coalition, Turn Out LGBTQ, Oasis Legal Services and the New Haven Pride Center.
Edafe Okporo, the Executive Director of RDJ Refugee Shelter, decided to take the event online in order to give people around the world an opportunity to participate: “I knew how important it was for me to be in my first pride coming from a country where being gay is legally criminalized,” he recalls. This virtual platform eliminates potential safety risks, while encouraging the global community to participate from home, on their phones and computers."
LGBTQ Pride and Migration 2020 is a digital pride celebration that will offer the global LGBTQ community a chance to be a part of something amazing. Communities from all over the world will come together to celebrate love and resistance. Attendees can look forward to performances from New York City drag queen Marti Gould Cummings, musician Trevor Bachman, and the National Queer Theater’s Arab transgender play, She He Me. Guest speakers include Julian Sanjivan, Yéwá, Matt Beard and Hans How.
DATE: World Refugee Day, Wednesday June 20th 2020, TIME: 1PM EDT (USA Eastern Time)
Learn more and register for the event link HERE
Melanie Nathan, Executive Director of African Human Rights Coalition notes: We are so grateful to Edafe Okporo for his leadership and hard work in bringing us together for this very special commemoration. Events such as this help to highlight that LGBTQI individuals are particularly marginalized, and continue to experience insecurity and are ostracized even within the world of migration and refugee protections. We must stand up for all who do not get to safely live according to their sexuality and gender identity. This Pride month AHRC delivers the message that LGBTQI refugees long for the time they can celebrate Pride openly and safely.
About the Organization: The RDJ Refugee Shelter is currently the only shelter in New York City specifically intended for homeless asylum seekers and refugees. We offer holistic care, support, and advocacy for asylum seekers who are experiencing housing insecurity, and provide the resources they need to thrive in their new home.
Collaborating Organizations: African Human Right Coalition, Asylumconnect, AllOut, Alight, TurnOut LGBT, National Queer Theater, Dixon place, Majors office of Immigrant Affairs, New Haven Pride Center, Brooklyn Community Pride Center, Black LGBTQ Migrant Project, IRCA, Immigration Equality, Oasis legal Services.
