This weekend saw thousands of people take part in the annual Joburg Pride parade. The crowd was made up of members and supporters of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered community. The festivities came to a halt on Jan Smuts Avenue, however, when protesters blocked the road at a major intersection. The protesters were also members of the the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered community.

Confusing, right?

The group of activists were from the 1 in 9 campaign. They ran out from behind the Goodman Gallery building and set up an impromptu blockade. A number of life-size dummies and activists were also stretched out on the road – representing LGBT victims of hate crimes, backed by banners that read “Dying For Justice” and “No Cause for Celebration”.

Carrie Shelver from 1 in 9 described the organisation as a “feminist collective of predominantly queer women”. She told Mambaonline that the action was intended to observe “one minute of silence to recognise the death and murders of particularly black LGBT people”.

But that did not happen.

When Pride marshals attempted to divert the parade to the other side of the road, around the protest, the activists moved to again block the parade from proceeding. This angered both march participants and marshals who attempted to pull down the banners stretched across the avenue.

No one knew what they were saying or who they were. And how do you stop a parade with 20 000 people and 38 floats and expect a few people in the front to explain what’s going on?

[Source: Mambaonline]