Britain’s Royal Mint set to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Pride
This year marks the 50th anniversary of British Pride and the U.K. Royal Mint has released a commemorative rainbow coin to celebrate the movement. The Royal Mint made the announcement on Wednesday and tweeted from their official twitter account using both the rainbow and the trans flags.
East London artist and LGBTQ activist Dominique Holmes designed the flag and used the finest printing technology possible to brand the coin with the colors and the pride flag.
Director of Marketing and Communications at Pride in London released a statement after the announcement was made. Asad Shaykh said, “It humbles me greatly that the words that I coined for the brand — protest, visibility, unity and equality — will be on an actual coin, opposite the queen,
“This queer brown immigrant has come a long way, powered by hope, love and this city. Nowhere in the world had this been possible, except the UK. Pride in London feels very proud today.”
While some will write this off as a ploy at Rainbow Capitalism, the Royal Mint couldn’t have decided to declare their support for the LGBTQ community at a better time. In January, 2022 the Council of Europe listed the U.K. right alongside Russia, Hungary and Poland as countries experiencing virulent attacks against the LGBTQ community – especially against their trans populations.
In April the British government declared that the country’s trans community would not be excluded from the British ban on LGBTQ conversion therapy. Hate crimes against the transgender population increased by 16% from 2019 to 2020, and then a further 3% in 2021. British transgender people are reporting experiencing limited access to healthcare and trans and non-binary folks have said that in order to get the healthcare they need, they have to leave the country altogether.
With Pride month literally just days away, as this is the 50th celebration of the Pride movement, there should be an air of celebration blowing through the country. While its clear the LGBQT people of England will not be silenced, it is with baited breath that they enter into their festivities this year.
The more positive political statements made in favor of the LGBTQ communities around the world in the next month, the better. Hats off to the Royal Mint for showing support during a much needed time.
