Buffalo City will be hosting its first Pride march on Saturday, October 28 along Orient Beach.
Various organisations in and around East London that are involved with the LGBTQ+ community have come together to initiate and plan the Pride Festival, including Buffalo City Municipality’s special projects unit, Bumb’ Ingomso, the Commission for Gender Equality, Gender and Sexuality Alliance and OUT LGBT Well-being.
This festival is free and open to people of all ages. All activities will operate under a strict no-alcohol policy.
For the first time since the beginning of democratic SA, the Eastern Cape Legislature met with activists from across the province at the first annual LGBTQIA+ Dialogue in August.
This year also saw a breakthrough in the provision of gender-affirming hormone therapy for transgender and gender-diverse people in Buffalo City.
According to event co-organiser Sikhander Cooper, the Buffalo City Pride is a response to many communities who have requested a Pride march.
“There is still much ignorance in Buffalo City and the Eastern Cape regarding people of the LGBTQIA+ community, their rights and needs, and the challenges that they face. Much of prejudice is due to ignorance, therefore key to a Pride Festival is education, information and awareness.
“Despite prejudice, the public response to Buffalo City Pride has been supportive.”
Yondela Ndlebe is an ally who has expressed her excitement for not only the march, but for the efforts to eradicate the stigma around HIV/Aids.
“I will be attending the march in honour of my late brother who passed away in 2021. He was gay and HIV-positive. It is unfortunate that there is such a stigma around HIV and the LGBTQ+ community,” Ndlebe said.
Cooper also stated that the best way for people to show their support for the community was by educating themselves.
The march is scheduled to take place along the East London Esplanade from 12pm.
It will start at Heroes Park and end at Orient Beach, with mini talks and a keynote address by SA’s gender commissioner Leigh- Anne van der Merwe.
