AN activist who has been one of the volunteers behind Darlington's Pride Weekender has written about why, for her, the event will always be about protest.

Writing for the Northern Echo, Phillippa Scrafton, who is chair of the Darlington Pride Weekender volunteer group, said:

I'm 52 and over the last 30 or so years that I can remember there's been huge change in LGBT peoples lives, The damage of Section 28 in the 80's, the total blackout of LGBT identities in school, it was NEVER discussed when I was growing up.

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Now every child is learning about our families, and relationships as part of the school curriculum.. amazing! Young people just seem to get it! At the same time, we have gone from a world where we were criminalised and the target for hate, to now where we have equal rights to love 'who we love'.

But it's by no way perfect, or even just good in some places.

I am incredibly proud to be part of the LGBT+ community and see what has been achieved by so many people. It's true 'we stand on the shoulders of giants' and I have been lucky enough to meet some of my heroes along the way. But there is still much more to do. Change is desperately needed for many LGBT people still in 2021.

In every community in the UK and around the world, LGBTQ+ people are still being abused, discriminated against, thrown out of their homes, bullied in schools and workplaces, face isolation, loneliness or depression and killed.

The institutions that should be protecting us – governments, communities, faith institutions and families, often stand silent or actively harm us. And for some these harms are particularly acute.

From racism to ableism, misogyny to classism, LGBT people of colour, LBT women, LGBT people who are disabled, those of us living in poverty, who are of faith, and many more of us, are being held back and pushed aside as we make our way through life.

That is why, for me at least, PRIDE is so important. It is a chance for us to amplify our voices and unite to challenge prejudice, discrimination, and hate. To come together, regardless of background, to share experiences, celebrate diversity and build stronger communities. I can't remember when I started using this phrase some years back but it's true for me ... "Pride is a party; Pride is a Protest, but most of all Pride is Power! And that power is in all of us.