Press Gang PLUS Investigators from Orange Grove Public School explore the importance of pride and the role that the Inner West Council plays in supporting LGBTQ+ youth.
Why is education in LGBTQ+ Pride so important? Well, it can help you discover yourself. To be more specific, in the Inner West pride is a pretty big deal!
The Inner West is one of the most progressive places regarding pride and its celebration. This year Sydney had the honour of hosting World Pride. It was a massive successful event with LGBTQ+ people from around the world coming to celebrate.
“World Pride is a global event, and Sydney was fortunate enough to be the host this year, and we decided that we wanted the Inner West to really be a big part of that,” said Darcy Byrne, Mayor of the Inner West Council (IWC).
The IWC even opened a grants program with $50,000 in which they said local LGBTQ+ organisations could apply for funding for events in the Inner West.
The IWC also opened Pride Square in Newtown.
The Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, came to the opening and along with hundreds of pride supporters.
Local businesses hung flags and painted windows, filling Pride Square with rainbows.
“The fact that businesses right across Sydney had pride colours up in their windows and were flying flags is special. The message it sends is really important!” said the Mayor.
So why is it necessary to celebrate pride? Mayor Byrne answered this question for us.
“So who’s heard of Mardi Gras? The first event was actually a protest. There were a whole lot of gay and lesbian people who marched and they were really protesting against police brutality. And in fact a lot of them got beaten up at that march by the police,’’ he said.
For centuries, the LGBTQ+ community has been ignored, discriminated against, told they were wrong, disrespected and misunderstood. However a whooping 11% of the Australians identify as LGBTQ+. It’s only now that this is starting to change. Gender and sexually diverse people are finally recognised for who they are, celebrated, and loved.
However, we still have so much to do. Out of that 11%, half of LGBTQ+ people feel that they cannot express their true identity in their current environment.
The IWC has taken steps to support pride. “The Inner west has really been the birthplace, or maybe the beating heart and soul of the struggle for civil rights and equality,” said Darcy Byrne. “We are about to convert Newtown Town Hall into a pride centre, where the LGBTQ+ community will be able to gather there and access services and support.”
It is so important that the young people in this community are educated around pride and its history. If our children and teens, the future of humanity, are taught differently to their ancestors, we can create a loving and open world for everybody. And that starts right here, in the Inner West.
