Pride in London’s former senior member says “nothing’s changed” a year after his resignation
The former director of communications at Pride in London has opened up about his resignation in a new interview. In 2021, Rhammel Afflick resigned from his role after expressing concerns regarding racism with the organisation.
While the 27-year-old said the Pride event was important for him, as it’s one of the most visible LGBTQ+ organisations in the UK, he admitted that he lost confidence in their ability to “successfully address the adversities faced by our multi-faceted communities.” In an essay, the writer and campaigner also said there’s an “unfortunate reluctance” within Pride in London’s leadership to combat the marginalisation of women, people of colour and those with disabilities, as well as “other forms of unacceptable discrimination.” In a recent interview with My London, Afflick gave further insight into his decision to leave the organisation. “It was a huge risk for me to take, I shouldn’t have to take me putting my own personal reputation at risk to make that point,” he explained. “It shouldn’t take me putting my trauma on display to get an organisation that is supposed to serve our community to be held to account.” He went on to say that when he initially joined Pride in London, it was to help “resolve” the lack of diversity within the organisation.
But after nearly a year since his departure, Afflick has expressed his disappointment over the lack of change the group has enacted. “Now that it’s been almost a year since I resigned, I just wonder what little we have to show for that, and that is really sad to think about,” he said. “There is no evidence I’ve seen to suggest that anything is different.
