Photo by John R. Sylliboy
On Saturday, July 18, a couple dozen veterans of Halifax's LGBT Community marched in memory of pride celebrations gone by and friends no longer with us. The Elderberries had a list of demands, paraphrased:
- affordable housing for elder Q folk
- formal LGBT cultural competency training / certification for all levels of workers at all levels and forms of elder health care
- timely access to gender affirming healthcare for trans folks
- funded rapid HIV tests
The sub themes of the march were
- remembering marches past - especially the 1988 one where people wore paper bags over their heads - photo here
- early marches which did not rely on corporate sponsorship -- from organizations that were vastly homophobic not long years ago.
Celebrating their tenth anniversary, the Elderberries also showed off their new parade banner.
The Elderberries gathered at "Grafton Park," the green space in front of the old Halifax Library at Brunswick Street and Spring Garden Road, and walked up Spring Garden on the sidewalk, finishing at the Garrison Grounds where the photo above was taken.
The march was preceeded by a talk about the Eagle Head Staff by Tuma Young, a reading of the list of demands by march organizer Lynn Murphy, and a story of the 1988 parade by honourary marshall Mike Sangster.
Here is a Facebook photo album of the march.
The Elderberries is Atlantic Canada's association of 2SLGBT seniors. Information about the organization and how to join can be found here: http://gay.hfxns.org/ElderBerries
