On Love & Rage:
UK Black Pride 2021
UK Black Pride is Europe's largest celebration for LGBTQI+ people of African, Asian, Caribbean, Latin American and Middle Eastern descent. The theme for UK Black Pride 2021 is “Love and Rage” – a fitting theme to honour how challenging things have been for so many within our communities.
Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, we have seen LOVE in how we have nurtured and taken care of each other in times of need. We have seen RAGE in how we stand up for ourselves in the midst of institutional racism, the denial of it and the effect it has on us all.
The Love Tank has created 12 LOVE and RAGE graphics to mark UK Black Pride. Six LOVE graphics propose how we can improve health and wellbeing. Six RAGE graphics highlight the things we should be angry and fighting against.
On Love.
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Get ready.
Have your prevention tools ready for love and lust over pride weekend (and beyond!). These include PrEP if you don't have HIV, U=U, PEP and condoms.
Find out more here. -
Get tested.
Take time to get health checks and tests done – test for HIV and STIs; prostate, breast + testicle exams; cervical smears; COVID tests. Take the chance to book your vaccine appointments - COVID, Hep A, Hep B, HPV.
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Practice self care.
Go for walks, take baths, get enough sleep, eat well, practise mindfulness, read a book, learn a new skill, do a digital detox, make time to reflect on your feelings, spend time with family and friends, eat a nourishing lunch at work, reflect in a diary.
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Donate blood.
Donate blood if you're able to and have conversations with family and friends about donating. In the UK we need donors from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds to donate blood so we can meet the needs of all patients in the UK now and in the years to come.
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Be kind.
Check on friends and family, especially on older people in your life. Donate to a local food bank or clothing centre. If you have some spare money, lots of small organisations are in need of support during these times. Support freelancer events or buy from their online stores.
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Be true.
We encourage you to love all the different parts of your identity and learn as much as you can about your queer history. We can learn from the past - unite, support and educate each other, become stronger, become socially conscious and fight for a better future for all of us.
On Rage.
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Take a stand.
There’s a lot going on in the world right now and there are movements around the world that need our solidarity more than ever! Such as #FreePalestine #ReleaseThe21 #EndSARS #BlackLivesMatter #StopAsianHate #FightAntiSematism #GRTRights
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Love our planet.
Reduce your use of plastic, use renewable energy, walk or cycle on short journeys + use public transport, turn off lights and devices when you're not using them, eat more local food, reduce red meat, fly less.
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Undetectable = Untransmittable.
Help reduce HIV stigma by calling out negative comments, raising awareness and educating others about what it means to live with HIV today. Stand in solidarity with your HIV+ friends and spread the U=U message, that people living with HIV on treatment can’t pass the virus on. Learn more here prepster.info/tasp.
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Sex work is work.
Stand up for sex workers by fighting against stigma in our queer communities and getting involved in the campaign to decriminalise sex work.
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Stand up to ageism.
Bridge the gap between younger and older queer people, further our queer intergenerational relationships, and support organisations that work with older queer people such as Open Doors London and Tonic Housing.
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Speak up.
Call out homophobia, biphobia and transphobia and report discriminatory incidents you see or experience, so actions are taken, if it's safe to do so Support Galop, a queer anti-violence group
