News
June is internationally celebrated as pride month. Pride month is an opportunity to champion visibility and inclusion and stand up against inequalities still faced by many people around the world. It is a time for people to reflects on the progress made within the LGBTQIA+ community and celebrate individual freedoms and identities.
On Friday the 22nd of May, a group of pupils from Chase Terrace Academy travelled into Birmingham City Centre to take part in the annual Birmingham Pride celebrations.
Birmingham Pride is one of the largest pride celebrations in the United Kingdom and features a whole weekend of events and celebrations attended by over 75,000 people, the festivities are all started by the Big Community Event on the Friday – a family friendly event for all ages, situated in the main pride festival site.
The group, accompanied by Mr Cooper, Miss Roach, Miss Bennet and Miss Lindsey wore bright clothing, badges and flags for the evening – pupils used the journey as an opportunity to apply rainbow face paint and glitter to really look the part!
On arrival, the group walked through Birmingham’s gay village as the weekend festivities were being set up, witnessing streets being adorned with rainbow flags and bunting.
Pupils watched a range of vibrant and exciting performances by local activists, dance groups, choirs as well as drag kings and queens. A moving dance performance tackled the stigma following the HIV crisis of the 1980s featuring local drag performer, Twiggy. Speakers discussed breaking barriers and challenging homophobia and transphobia in modern society and spoke out for inclusion and visibility.
Pupils also took advantage of the fun fayre, followed by a range of street food offerings. Many pupils bought pride badges, flags and fans from the stalls on site that were selling all manner of colourful items.
The evening was a great opportunity to experience a significant cultural event and experience the diversity and inclusivity of the LGBTQIA+ community. All pupils had a fantastic time and thoroughly embodied Chase Terrace’s core values of community and respect and can’t wait to get involved again next year.
