So excited about Sunday’s (9 Sept) Faggamuffin Block Party at Hackney Carnival. Forecast looks like we’re due to catch the last bloom of the summer, so dress inappropriately.
The DJs, performers and hosts are all lined up to create a show to remember
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But before we get carried away we just wanted to say thanks to the fantastic team who have been working together to bring the event together – so, meet the team behind the scenes
Gin
Caribbean Carnival is more than an everyday festival and Faggamuffin Bloc Party more than just another sound system, it is a reclaiming of a tradition of resistance and liberation through celebration by and for queer people of colour. It will be a celebration at which echoes of those tribal beats, inherited via the Caribbean, will reverberate in a new context: a celebration of freedom that is precious to us as black and brown people and as queer people. For me, it will be a homecoming: a space to be authentically me, and to celebrate the new us – Read more on The Quietus Faggamuffins Step Out: Why Queering Carnival Matters
Lyall
Things are not going to change unless we make them. We all need to get out and be active, positive and inclusive. With the marginalising politics of the day we need to celebrate every aspect of our culture to make sure we are all proportionally represented and heard. The Faggamuffin Bloc Party holds a space for others who are not able to celebrate but will nevertheless be reassured that this event is happening
Hakeem
For me it has always been empowering to not feel like I have to choose between my blackness or my queerness. Faggamuffin Bloc Party means I, and others, will have a space where we can naturally celebrate these parts of our identity and heritage in the same space as other black/POC and/or queer folk
Bad Lay-Dee
Faggamuffin Bloc Party means Hackney Carnival is truly open for everyone. It represents a space for QPOC and the whole LGBTQ+ and diverse Hackney community to come together and party. The space is long overdue, so being part of its creation as a queer person of colour feels really significant
Dr Ronx
As a visibly queer, out and proud black, androgynous, intersectional feminist doctor, I want young people in Hackney to see me thriving as myself, and know that they can identify as whatever they want to and exist without the need for validation from anyone. I want all of Hackney’s residents to be our allies. I want folk to know that all sections of society can exist together, complementing and supporting each other because that what community IS.
#YouCannotBeWhatYouDoNotSee
Andreena
The Faggamuffin Bloc Party for me as a black lesbian woman means being included within the Carnival and having a space that represents queer people of colour. Being visible will hopefully encourage others to be visible in such a vibrant and inclusive space.
Rob
If I didn’t define myself for myself . . .
Faggamuffin Bloc Party is a chance for queer people of colour to be where they should be, at the heart of their communities, being authentically themselves, contributing to our shared future. Coming out of the quiet, saying something.
Jane
The Pulse nightclub massacre, followed by divisive election results at home and abroad – and subsequent rise in racist, xenophobic and homophobic hate crime – made me realise that I had to do more, we all had to do more, to protect existing hard won rights and fight for those who still do not have them. Hackney Pride 365 was started in 2017 and is able to open doors & create opportunities for community groups to take space and develop projects they are passionate about with the backing of the council.
When you see them at the party – say hi, they’re making waves . . . behind the scenes.
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