Pride in London responds to calls for inquiry following racism allegations

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “We are on a journey, like many organisations, and whilst we have very recently made some sizable modifications after consultation with our team, including a leadership team made up of 50 per cent minority and ethnic individuals, we will not stop building visibility, unity and equality into the heart of everything we do.” It comes after The Independent revealed that Rhammel Afflick, formerly the most senior Black team member at Pride resigned from his post as director of communications in March, over concerns about racism within the organisation. Days later, all 10 members of the Pride in London community advisory board resigned citing a “hostile environment” for volunteers of colour. In response to this, Pride in London said that a summary of the recommendations from Lisa Power’s report to review Pride in London’s community advisory requirements, commissioned by the previous co-chairs in 2020, were published on its website May 21st 2021, adding that “the report was not a report on racism and bullying.” The letter’s coordinator is Pride in London patron Peter Tatchell, who helped organise the UK’s first Pride march in 1972. and said: “We are urging the Mayor to take action, given that Pride in London is no longer abiding by its contract and has lost the trust and confidence of much of the LGBTIQ community. The successful “Reclaim Pride” march on 24 July shows there is a yearning for change, in particular for a truly inclusive community-based Pride and a Pride that is both a celebration and a protest for LGBTIQ human rights.” Rhammel Afflick Responding to the open letter on Thursday, Mr Afflick told The Independent: “Pride in London have a lot of work to do to regain the trust of LGBT+ communities — and that starts with engaging with other community organisers and wider communities transparently; change requires actually taking action on the issues that have surfaced repeatedly.