➤ UK PRIDE, from p.34
deaths. The Buggery Act’s death
penalty was abolished in 1861 and
replaced by the Offenses Against
the Person Act, which threatened
a minimum of 10 years imprisonment.
The long-lasting impact
of the anti-LGBTQ laws that the
British imposed on other countries,
however, continues to be felt
to this day.
Over the next century, members
of the LGBTQ community
were continuously persecuted, but
support groups, reformist literature,
and decriminalization began
to emerge. The 1970s and 1980s
witnessed new developments for
LGBTQ individuals, including the
publication of diverse media and
legislative changes. All the while,
the AIDS crisis hampered the community.
The UK government would
introduce amendments that made
changes to long-standing laws,
and the Equality Act and Marriage
(Same-Sex Couples) Act in 2010
and 2013, respectively, would be
true game-changers for the community.
“We recognize that to promote diversity
and tolerance but also fi ght
for equal rights across the world,
we need to demonstrate advocacy
in our domestic leadership,” Hannah
Young, acting consul general
of the British Consulate General of
New York, said during an interview
with Gay City News. “For example,
we’ve had civil partnerships for
more than a decade; equal marriage
became legal in Britain,
Wales, and Scotland in 2014 and
Northern Ireland in January 2020.
In addition, we have one of the
strongest legislative frameworks
to prevent discrimination, including
on the grounds of sexual orientation
and gender reassignment
— specifi cally designed to protect
trans people.”
“I very much encourage the
team to talk about the intersectionality
of diversity across a
range of topics,” said Young, who
is also the host of the podcast
“Brits in the Big Apple.” “It’s important
that we play an active role
in these moments like Pride, but
we need to have an undercurrent
of diversity and inclusion across
everything that we do. That’s
very much a key thing for us at
the British Consulate. We are
always thinking about the audience
and the themes that might
demonstrate our values. We want
to reach a wide audience, but we
also want to craft the content to
be narrow enough to target specifi
c stakeholders.”
Young added, “We see this as
a global effort, an all-year-round
effort, but we have this amazing
opportunity to focus on Pride and
what Pride means both in the UK
and the US during June.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson
recently appointed special LGBT+
envoy Lord Nick Herbert to spearhead
efforts to boost LGBTQ equality
in the UK and abroad and to
chair the LGBT+ conference next
year.
“We see that as a lightning
rod to bring the issue front and
center on the world stage,” Young
stated.
“The freedom to love who you
want is a key British value and
a vital component of any democracy,”
Johnson said in a written
statement last month. “The pandemic
has, however, exacerbated
the existing inequality LGBT+
people experience globally, with
violence and discrimination being
a daily reality for some. The
UK government, with our international
partners, believes this is
the time to take collective, global
action.”
The British Consulate has taken
on the topic of diversity and inclusion
and held events focusing on
how to fi nance diverse entrepreneurs
as well as panels on eliminating
barriers for people of color
in the theater sector.
“If we are having a panel discussion,
we have rules so to make
sure that we don’t have all from
one group when we strive for real
representation in all campaigns,”
Young said.
Young said she is looking forward
to NYC Pride events, including
the Pride pop-ups slated for
Pride Sunday on June 27.
“This is a moment for families
and educating the next generation,”
Young said. “My Daughter
is seven and came home to talk
about Pride because she learned
about it at school. We are helping
the next generation understand
what tolerance and respect really
means. I see our events, including
the pop-up, as a really important
family moment.”
Check out ongoing and upcoming
Pride events with a British
twist:
NYC Pride March Pop-Ups,
June 26-27, 2021
As local businesses open up to
indoor activities, NYC Pride will
partner with companies to present
NYC Pride March Pop-Ups
— and the British Consulate will
participate. The British Consulate
will join the British-owned tavern
Dog & Bone, located at 338 Third
Avenue at 25th Street in the Flatiron
District. They’ll be offering
specialty cocktails, a very British
food menu and exciting activities.
All in New York City are invited to
attend!
Diversity & Inclusion in Diplomacy,
June 30, 2021
British Ambassador Karen
Pierce is hosting a virtual event
with Ambassador Gina Abercrombie
Winstanley, the State Department’s
fi rst chief diversity & inclusion
offi cer, on June 30. The
ambassadors will discuss the efforts
that the US State Department
and the UK have made to support
LGBTQ diplomats. The discussion
will be moderated by Marti Flacks,
director of the Human Rights Program
at the Center for Strategic
and International Studies.
Safe To Be Me: A Global Equality
Conference, June 27-29,
2022
Next year the UK will host the
Global LGBT conference named
“Safe To Be Me.” The event will be
held on the 50th anniversary of the
London Pride Marches. It will draw
together a coalition of countries
to examine best practices around
legislative reform, ending violence
and discrimination and equal access
to public services. “Government,
parliamentarians, business,
civil society and young voices will
come together to talk about how
to increase efforts to promote the
rights of LGBT+ people around the
world. We want it to be as inclusive
as possible,” said Young.
“We always like good weather for
our outdoor events, but Brits and
the LGBT+ community are intrepid
folks, so we are assured that all will
have a good time, rain or shine,”
Toby Usnik, head of communcations
for the British consulate, told
Gay City News. “Add to that a great
mix of guests—from UK diplomatic
staff to members of the media, to
local neighbors and businesses,
and of course to all of our LGBTQ
family attending Pride. We have
great specialty cocktails and food
and lots of great conversations to
look forward to. Of course, underlying
all of this is a set of shared
values. The work Her Majesty’s
Government does throughout the
year for DEI is the bedrock of our
ability to celebrate Pride this June
and every year.”
➤ NASSIB, from p.32
ity for the LGBTQ community.
We wish Carl the best of luck this
coming season.”
Nassib is the fi rst NFL player to
come out since Michael Sam, who
became the fi rst out gay player to
be drafted by an NFL team when
the Rams selected him in the seventh
round of the 2014 draft. Sam
went on to play for the Rams in the
2014 preseason, but was cut prior
to the start of the regular season.
He went on to endure a short-lived
stint on the Cowboys practice
squad and briefl y joined the Montreal
Alouettes of the Canadian
Football League. Sam never played
in an NFL regular season game.
Free agent defensive end Ryan
Russell came out as bisexual in
2019 after playing for the Cowboys
and Buccaneers, but never landed
with an NFL team after coming out.
Nassib, 28, was drafted 65th
overall by the Cleveland Browns in
2016. He was waived at the beginning
of the 2018 season, claimed by
the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and in
2020 signed a three-year deal with
the Raiders. He rose to the NFL after
emerging as a walk-on at Penn
State University, where he become
the Big Ten Defensive Player of the
Year in 2015. He played in 14 games
last season, including fi ve starts,
and tallied 2.5 sacks, 28 tackles,
and had his fi rst career interception.
In 2018 he had 6.5 sacks.
June 24 - June 30, 2 36 021 | GayCityNews.com
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