Global Black Pride to Hold Its First In-Person Event in 2022

Global Black Pride announced on Wednesday it will host its first live event in 2022. Founded in 2020, the group has held two virtual events -- in 2020 and another in 2021 -- that brought in millions of participants.

Its mission is to be a platform for Black LGBTQ+ voices and celebration while also working toward a global movement against discrimination.

The organization also named its leadership team, which represents the diversity of LGBTQ+ leaders around the world, the group said in a press release. Global Black Pride's new leaders hail from Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, and North America.

"Global Black Pride was founded to provide a space for all Black LGBTQI+ communities across the globe to feel seen and heard while celebrating and centering our diversities," Global Black Pride's co-founder and president, Michal Ighodaro, said. "Over the past months, our team has begun to build the structures and strategies that will help us shape and sustain the tasks set for ourselves. With that, we are committed to an inclusive and wide-reaching movement that brings all Black LGBQTI+ experiences and equity to the forefront unapologetically."

Others on the leadership team include vice president Rikki Nathanson; chief of finance Kenita Placide, head of events, media, and communication Gerald Garth; and advisory board chair Monroe France. Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, a British political activist and co-founder of U.K. Black Pride, will serve as the director of the human rights conference.

"The ultimate goal of Global Black Pride is to center, uplift, and celebrate LGBTQI+ Black people and the cultures and issues that are important to us all. Across the world, LGBTQI+ Black people help drive movements for justice and equality, have an outsized impact on popular culture, and contribute to societies in which our lived experiences are not taken into meaningful consideration," said Opoku-Gyimah.

The in-person event will host festivals, parades, and other cultural events aside from its human rights conference. A fund will be created to help individuals from around the world attend.

Organizers say Global Black Pride will announce its in-person location within a week.