A week ago today, 25,000 people showed up for UK Black Pride 2022. 25,000 people is 10,000 more than we even expected. It’s 15,000 more people than our last in-person UK Black Pride in 2019. I can’t tell you what it means to me to watch our communities embrace each other, love on each other and celebrate who we are together. When @fowlkesearl the Federation of Global Black Prides @ctr4blackequity, told me that UK Black Pride is now officially the largest Black Pride in the world, I was tearful. The sleepless nights, the worrying about people’s safety and about getting it right for our communities, securing sponsorships, leading volunteers and creating a space that feels worthy of our experiences takes such tremendous effort. One I have gladly taken up in service of us. The value, the return on this emotional and physical investment, has always been your joy, so thank you for showing up and showing out. UK Black Pride is for you. UK Black Pride has been through a lot. Any organisation working in service of Black & POC communities in the UK knows how hard they’ll have to fight for even a crumb of what “mainstream” organisations are given. But UK Black Pride is evidence of what we do and of what we can create even when the world is burning around us. We won’t always be perfect, we will always have ways of being better and braver, and we will continue to face an uphill battle to put on an important and free event that reaches across various diasporas and lived experiences. But as we’ve done for 17 years, we will fight, listen and celebrate together. We will centre and celebrate the Bold Black lesbians (Nixx/Khi/Bo) who made UKBP possible. We will unapologetically create space to address discrimination, the violence of systemic racism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and violence that we face daily & we will create spaces worthy of our collective joy. I want to especially thank the UK Black Pride volunteers without them this is not possible! Next year, we turn 18. And like any 18-year-old, it means change is afoot. Thank you for honouring the work that has been done in the past, the work we do now and for coming on this journey #BlackPride @capturedbycorinne 📸