5 June 2024

An article from Sheila Nursimhulu – Co-Chair CNWL's Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Staff Network

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June is here and it’s officially the start of summer. It’s a time of the year that we eagerly await to get into our light summer clothing and to let our hair down after the cold winter and often equally cold spring.

June of course is also the month to celebrate the LGBTQ+ communities across the world. After a long history of oppression that beset this group, the Pride month, like the summer after the winter, is here to remind ourselves of the long and arduous road that this group has had to travel to get to the place where they are today. It has no doubt been a fight worth fighting for, and one that we can never take for granted as, at its core, the universal message is simply one of everyone’s basic human rights to live their life the way they choose to.

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Evidently, there is still a long way to go to ensure equality in its simplest and purest form across the world for this group and all minority groups.

We, at the Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Staff Network, believe in the ongoing fight to foster unity and to advocate for equality for all.

My co-chair, Adam Sobrany and I, and all our members join our LGBTQ+ colleagues at CNWL in celebrating this period to honour the resilience and triumphs of this group and other minority groups in the pursuit of acceptance and equality.

For BAME colleagues who also belong to the LGBTQ+ community, the PRIDE@CNWL (LGBT+) Network is a platform that supports your community and where members can get involved in policy discussions as well as social activities. 

For those who enjoy a bit of culture and/or to celebrate this great event with others, London’s 2024 Pride parade is the ticket that you want this summer. It takes place between 12pm and 6pm on Saturday, June 29 and runs from Hyde Park Corner, through Piccadilly Circus, down Haymarket and along Pall Mall to Trafalgar Square, culminating at Whitehall Place. Further information can be found on the Pride in London website

External Support services specific to the LGBTQ+ community

For support services within CNWL: Occupational Health Services, Living Well Team and the Staff counselling service.