Jamaica is holding its first-ever Gay
Pride celebration.
A week's worth of events include a
flash mob, an art exhibit and performances featuring LGBT Jamaicans,
and a dance party.
(Related: Ellen
Page attends Jamaica Gay Pride.)
Anti-gay rhetoric remains high in the
Caribbean country. Due to security concerns, a parade – a staple
of Gay Prides around the globe – is not scheduled.
But activists say attitudes are
shifting.
“I think we will look back on this
and see it as a turning point because many persons thought that it
would never actually happen,” Latoya Nugent of the LGBT rights
group J-FLAG told the AP.
Kingston Mayor Angela Brown-Burke spoke
at the opening event.
“They are individuals who are
minorities who have been struggling in terms of their identity and
finding their own space,” Brown-Burke told the Washington
Blade. “It is important for us to provide safe spaces for
them.”
Nas Chin, who took part in the
celebration, told the AP that “there is a certain change going on”
in Jamaica.
“Yes, there's still ridicule on the
streets and some people look at you and laugh, but it's not as
violent as it was and we will insist on living our lives,” Chin
said.