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10 August 2016 1:46 PM

‘We’re not hiding anymore’ – Jamaica celebrates its second ever LGBT Pride

By Will Stroude

Last week was a big one for Jamaica: Monday (August 1) marked Emancipation Day, a national holiday to commemorate the end of slavery on the island, while Friday (August 6) was Independence day.

Nestled between these two events was a more recent, but important celebration. The country’s second Pride week.

Pride isn’t easy in a country where homosexual acts are still illegal, and where LGBT people are often persecuted and forced out of their homes and workplaces. But LGBT voices are growing louder in the Caribbean country, and a second successful Pride shows that, while the fight is far from over, things are moving forward in the right direction.

As well as a black tie gala, sports day and family picnic, members of the Jamaican LGBT community helped to feed thousands of underprivileged people in an island-wide feeding initiative.

The CEO of J-FLAG, an NGO dedicated to improving LGBT rights on the Island, said in a Facebook post: “It’s heartwarming to see the community coming along with us to be part of the shift in consciousness and showing that we can celebrate who we are despite what people say or think or do.

“As one friend said no more parties in the shadows way up in the hills. We not hiding anymore. The business community is coming along with us as well and this is heartwarming”.

Check out some of the highlights from social media below:

[fbvideo link=”https://www.facebook.com/jflagcommunity/videos/10154425760476670/” width=”500″ height=”400″ onlyvideo=”0″]

https://twitter.com/jaevionn/status/762319635303788544

https://twitter.com/Kel_ChasLuv/status/760435954112802816

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