By: John
This year, pride comes on the heels of a new celebration in Belize’s calendar year, Emancipation Day. While not a new concept, Belize has finally ushered in a long-standing tradition from most Caribbean countries. Now I know you might ask yourself, what does pride have in common with Emancipation Day or why this simple blogger is even trying to make an attempt to compare what may seem to be two disconnected ideas. To explore this idea we have to look at what pride means for LGBT Belizeans and what emancipation means to minority groups in Belize, especially given the fact that Belize being a melting pot of cultures and ideas. Is Belize truly emancipated?
August is Pride Month in Belize, the LGBT community in Belize try to come together and celebrate the right to be themselves. The majority of Pride activities take place in June each year in other places of the world, however other communities celebrate at other times of the year. Pride celebrations have their origins in the long battle of minority groups to overcome discrimination and be accepted for who they are. The initial organizers of Belize’s pride chose August 10th to celebrate the Supreme Court’s decision on section 53 - thus pride! But, are we where we want to be since that ruling back in 2016?
The abolition of Slavery took place in the British Empire on August 1st, 1833. While this took place, in the old British Honduras, a bunch of penal codes was inherited even after she received her independence and became Belize in 1981. Colonial masters of Belize left their beliefs and their own brand of control, hate, misogyny and homophobia. The criminal code was transferred from Britain to its colonies, and it continues to influence LGBTQ politics to this day. Being gay was deemed unlawful under the penal code, and while homosexuality was decriminalized in the United Kingdom in 1967, it remained illegal in at least 30 former British colonies. Before Britain imposed its own ideals of mob rule, most of these countries undiscovered by colonizers had no history of homophobia among the people found on this side of the globe or in other former British colonies around the world.
This year, pride comes on the heels of a new celebration in Belize’s calendar year, Emancipation Day. While not a new concept, Belize has finally ushered in a long-standing tradition from most Caribbean countries. Now I know you might ask yourself, what does pride have in common with Emancipation Day or why this simple blogger is even trying to make an attempt to compare what may seem to be two disconnected ideas. To explore this idea we have to look at what pride means for LGBT Belizeans and what emancipation means to minority groups in Belize, especially given the fact that Belize being a melting pot of cultures and ideas. Is Belize truly emancipated?
August is Pride Month in Belize, the LGBT community in Belize try to come together and celebrate the right to be themselves. The majority of Pride activities take place in June each year in other places of the world, however other communities celebrate at other times of the year. Pride celebrations have their origins in the long battle of minority groups to overcome discrimination and be accepted for who they are. The initial organizers of Belize’s pride chose August 10th to celebrate the Supreme Court’s decision on section 53 - thus pride! But, are we where we want to be since that ruling back in 2016?
The abolition of Slavery took place in the British Empire on August 1st, 1833. While this took place, in the old British Honduras, a bunch of penal codes was inherited even after she received her independence and became Belize in 1981. Colonial masters of Belize left their beliefs and their own brand of control, hate, misogyny and homophobia. The criminal code was transferred from Britain to its colonies, and it continues to influence LGBTQ politics to this day. Being gay was deemed unlawful under the penal code, and while homosexuality was decriminalized in the United Kingdom in 1967, it remained illegal in at least 30 former British colonies. Before Britain imposed its own ideals of mob rule, most of these countries undiscovered by colonizers had no history of homophobia among the people found on this side of the globe or in other former British colonies around the world.
As their empire grew, they imposed their idea of morality on the people they had colonized and on the slaves they traded in the region. During these times, they wanted to make sure that soldiers and their administrators were not tempted to “bugger” each other or their new subjects, so they exported anti-buggery laws overseas. It was finally until 1967 that England and Whales decriminalized homosexuality and later on in 1982 that the rest of the U.K decriminalized homosexuality. Sadly, by this time it was already too late, even for countries like Belize - while just one year old, the rest of the U.K had lifted an archaic criminal code on their law books but the damage had already been done for this tiny Jewel.
Many of Britain’s former colonies, the indigenous people of those lands had no history of homophobia. Mwanga II of Buganda, a 19th-century king, of what is now modern-day Uganda, was known to have had sex with men. It was until white missionaries brought Christianity to his kingdom, where everyone changed their minds about gay relationships. Fast forward to the present day, these laws did not just gather dust, they were actively being used to target LGBT people and Christianity certainly did not help to nurture a culture of acceptance in these former colonies. Here at home, an independent Belize is left with a culture of homophobia. This, compounded with the fact that Belize too, has had a long history with white missionaries, would not make it easy for any LGBT citizen to live their authentic life.
Granted, the 2016 Supreme Court ruling gave way to a new era within Belize for its LGBT citizens even tho there was leftover criminal codes from British rule and putrid hate from homophobic missionaries that had now been ingrained in the culture of many Belizean households. Even with all this, the LGBT community thrive. It was even before 2016, at least 10 years prior, groups and individuals wanted to fight back. While it was Caleb Orosco and The United Belize Advocacy Movement of Belize (UniBAM,) that lead the charge of a constitutional challenge, people from all over Belize were slowly beginning to wake up and were being inspired by this court case. Not only did some individuals become “woke,” others formed other human rights groups and organizations, some also found their niche and rhythm to be a part of a movement.
Belizeans are slowly beginning to realize the value of their voice and the value of their constitutional rights. Now more than ever, Belizeans seem to be realizing that laws that are still on the books today that speak in derogatory language towards persons with a mental disability or rules in the police force that attempt to control black women’s hair are part of an old system of thinking like that of our former colonial masters. So as the state realizes that a day such as Emancipation Day is a necessary commemoration, Belize as a country may still have a long way to go.
So yes, slavery has been abolished, emancipation came almost 200 years ago. Most of the country embraces the celebration of physical chains being broken. The LGBT community has come a long way since five or even ten years ago. Definitely, most of Belize has come a long way. However, there are those who are still willing to hold on to what their white masters and Christian missionary friends have left behind since the de-colonization of this Jewel. So as we usher in this year’s 2021 pride celebrations and commemorate Emancipation Day. Let’s do what Bob Marley thought us, let’s “emancipate yourself from mental slavery.” - because let’s face it, are we truly the “land of the free,” or only some of us free? Are we truly emancipated? There is plenty more work to do, but serendipitously five years of LGBT pride coming on the heels of Emancipation Day is definitely a good reason to reflect on both these occasions that will be occurring every year in August.
Many of Britain’s former colonies, the indigenous people of those lands had no history of homophobia. Mwanga II of Buganda, a 19th-century king, of what is now modern-day Uganda, was known to have had sex with men. It was until white missionaries brought Christianity to his kingdom, where everyone changed their minds about gay relationships. Fast forward to the present day, these laws did not just gather dust, they were actively being used to target LGBT people and Christianity certainly did not help to nurture a culture of acceptance in these former colonies. Here at home, an independent Belize is left with a culture of homophobia. This, compounded with the fact that Belize too, has had a long history with white missionaries, would not make it easy for any LGBT citizen to live their authentic life.
Granted, the 2016 Supreme Court ruling gave way to a new era within Belize for its LGBT citizens even tho there was leftover criminal codes from British rule and putrid hate from homophobic missionaries that had now been ingrained in the culture of many Belizean households. Even with all this, the LGBT community thrive. It was even before 2016, at least 10 years prior, groups and individuals wanted to fight back. While it was Caleb Orosco and The United Belize Advocacy Movement of Belize (UniBAM,) that lead the charge of a constitutional challenge, people from all over Belize were slowly beginning to wake up and were being inspired by this court case. Not only did some individuals become “woke,” others formed other human rights groups and organizations, some also found their niche and rhythm to be a part of a movement.
Belizeans are slowly beginning to realize the value of their voice and the value of their constitutional rights. Now more than ever, Belizeans seem to be realizing that laws that are still on the books today that speak in derogatory language towards persons with a mental disability or rules in the police force that attempt to control black women’s hair are part of an old system of thinking like that of our former colonial masters. So as the state realizes that a day such as Emancipation Day is a necessary commemoration, Belize as a country may still have a long way to go.
So yes, slavery has been abolished, emancipation came almost 200 years ago. Most of the country embraces the celebration of physical chains being broken. The LGBT community has come a long way since five or even ten years ago. Definitely, most of Belize has come a long way. However, there are those who are still willing to hold on to what their white masters and Christian missionary friends have left behind since the de-colonization of this Jewel. So as we usher in this year’s 2021 pride celebrations and commemorate Emancipation Day. Let’s do what Bob Marley thought us, let’s “emancipate yourself from mental slavery.” - because let’s face it, are we truly the “land of the free,” or only some of us free? Are we truly emancipated? There is plenty more work to do, but serendipitously five years of LGBT pride coming on the heels of Emancipation Day is definitely a good reason to reflect on both these occasions that will be occurring every year in August.