This article is a personal account written by Leslie Clarke, CEO of the Pride Community Foundation.
There are days that remind you exactly why you do the work, and this Pride was one of them. From a sunrise breakfast in the sky to a soapbox where anyone could speak their truth, I want to take you through it while it is all still fresh in my heart.
We started the morning up on the i360. From eight until ten, we welcomed changemakers, community leaders, local councillors, MPs and the Lord-Lieutenant of East Sussex to our annual PCF Pride Breakfast, and we did it on a private flight 138 metres above the city we love. A huge thank you to the i360 and the Nightcap team for their generosity and hospitality.
I was lucky to share the stage with two brilliant speakers. Paul Kemp, Managing Director of Brighton Pride, spoke from the heart about a journey that began when he arrived in this city at seventeen. He reminded us that this year marks the thirty-fifth anniversary of Pride, and that in a moment when sponsors and organisations elsewhere are stepping back, Brighton & Hove remains, in his words, "a beacon of hope." I could not agree more.
Then Amelie Marshall, one of our wonderful research volunteers, shared what our team has been building all year. Amelie and her fellow volunteers are working on a paper on community cohesion, examining how anti-trans organisations have gained ground and, crucially, offering recommendations to councillors and MPs on how to stand with us. It is fantastic work, and I couldn't be prouder that it carries our name.
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When I stood up, I wanted to remind the room where we started. A year ago, PCF was handed a name and a bank account, and that was it. Since then we have facilitated ninety thousand pounds in grants to community groups, thanks to the fundraising of Brighton Pride. We revamped PCF's governance, revitalised our Pride City Angels scheme, and through a new partnership with the bobu app, membership now includes training so businesses can become genuinely safe spaces, not just a sticker in a window.
But the announcement I am proudest of grew out of a question we could not answer. At our Queering Politics event, people kept asking what practical support exists to help queer people actually get into politics. Our honest answer was: none, really. That was not good enough. So on the morning of Brighton Pride, we launched the UK's first LGBTQ+ leaders programme designed to get people elected. It pairs one-to-one mentoring from LGBTQ+ CEOs, politicians and executives with a months-long course covering public speaking, campaigning, managing a team and staying safe in public office.
If you are a woman, there has been a programme for you. If you are Black, there has been a programme for you. Now, if you are LGBTQ, there is one too. I am also delighted that Peter Kyle MP has joined us as the programme's patron.
After breakfast, we got ready to lead the community parade. Pride this year ran under the motto "The Power of Love," and our entry carried its own sub-motto: "We are community." Every placard we marched behind featured a member of our community, printed alongside their own words about what Pride means to them. Walking behind those faces and those quotes, surrounded by the noise and colour of the city, is a feeling I will never forget.
The part of the day closest to my heart was something brand new: the Queer Soapbox Stage at Pride on the Park. The idea was simple. Democratise a piece of Pride by giving community members the chance to walk up and speak their mind.
And they did. Luciana Cousin, our Chair and co-founder of the bobu app, opened us up. Adam Imber and Ali Najjar, a married couple, shared their journey of love and faith and what it means to build a life together across two religious traditions. Olivia Campbell Cavendish, founder of the Trans Legal Clinic, spoke to a fight that matters more than ever. Jude Guaitamacchi, the multi-award-winning campaigner, speaker and content creator, brought the room with them. And to close, I had the privilege of a thirty-minute conversation with Peter Tatchell.
What struck me, standing at the side of that stage, was how little it took to make space for people to be heard, and how much came pouring through once we did. That is the whole idea. Pride is not a platform for a few of us. It belongs to all of us.
None of this happens without you. To everyone who fundraises for us, from Brighton Bear Weekend to Brighton Pride to Brighton and Hove Albion, and to every councillor, member of parliament, civic leader, community leader and supporter who keeps faith with us, thank you. We are only a year and a bit old, and look at what we have done together.
And to those without a voice, in rural areas with no safe spaces and no bars to call their own, please know that this work is for you too.
Happy Pride.
Leslie Clarke
CEO, Pride Community Foundation