Day against hate crime in Vancouver

It was a bright and sunny afternoon in August when a small group of people, connected only through a few degrees of separation, met on the patio of a Davie Street restaurant for lunch following the Proclamation of Pride before the annual parade. Deputy Mayor Ellen Woodsworth; LGBTQ Advisory Committee members Ryan Clayton, Mette Bach, and Fatima Jaffer; and London, UK activist Emma Hands. Turns out, they didn’t just share food; they also shared a common vision.

Hands told the group about a movement in London. When a 62-year-old gay man Ian Baynham was attacked and killed in Trafalgar Square last year by a trio of homophobic youth, queer activists came together to hold a vigil against hate crime (pictured). The event drew over 10,000 people, including the Deputy Mayor of London and the Prime Minister’s wife.  The organisers of that vigil called themselves 17-24-30, which stands for the dates of the three nail bombs that were planted in Brixton, Brick Lane and Soho in 1999 by David Copeland, who wanted to cause a race war by targeting the Black, Asian and gay communities. Luckily he failed and was caught - but not before he had planted the three bombs over the weekend, injuring about 200 people and killing three people.

“The London Nail Bombers agenda was simple yet terrifying; he intended to light a spark that would ignite a violent reaction from minority communities and lead to an all-out race war, culminating in the coming to power of the right-wing British National Party,” 17-24-30 founder Mark Healey had stated.

This story resonated with the local activists, all of whom had witnessed both a series of hate crimes against the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community as well as a racist backlash against ethnic communities deemed “responsible” for the attacks. Even Fatima Jaffer, a long time activist and vocal voice for women and the queer community, was targeted on Davie Street following the attack on Jordan Smith by Michael Kandola for being a South Asian woman.

The ball began rolling, and on October 23, the vision the Vancouver and London activists had shared will become reality. Organized by the City of Vancouver LGBTQ Advisory Committee and 17-24-30 in London, a candlelight vigil in both cities will bring together members of queer, people of colour and women’s communities in unity against hate crime. In Vancouver, the vigil will take place on the steps of City Hall, where Mayor Gregor Robertson will read a Proclamation declaring October 23 “Day Against Hate Crime” in the City of Vancouver.  In London, crowds will gather in Trafalgar Square, the site of the homophobic murder in 2009.

The link between the two cities this year is a deliberate act on the part of queer activists in both cities to build an international movement against all hate crime, which brings together people from all the communities affected by crimes against them on the basis of who they are. It will feature a series of speakers from several different communities including the Multicultural Advisory Committee; Qmunity, Vancouver’s Queer Resource Centre; and will culminate in a candlelit moment of silence in memory of victims of hate crime everywhere.

The Vancouver Vigil Against Hate Crime will be held on the steps of Vancouver City Hall on Saturday, October 23, at 5.30 p.m. All members of the media and the public are invited to attend.

The Vigil will be preceded by an official reading of the Proclamation by Mayor Gregor Robertson on Oct 19 in Council Chambers. The Proclamation will be read again by the Mayor at the Vigil on October 23.