AT THE END OF A HARD YEAR, THERE’S HOPE IN COMMUNITY RESISTANCE
2016 has, for many of us, been a particularly hard year. We’ve seen the loss of some of our beloved icons: David Bowie, Prince, Victoria Wood, Caroline Aherne and Leonard Cohen, and many lesbian and bi TV characters. Malevolent political campaigning here in Britain and most recently in the US has led to a rise in hate crimes – both physical and white collar – committed against people of colour, lesbian, bi, gay and trans people, those with disabilities, low earners and immigrants. And yet, in times of struggle, we cannot be downhearted. We have no choice but to resist the on-going assault on our lives and our livelihoods. Or as the writer bell hooks said, “True resistance begins with people confronting pain… and wanting to do something to change it”. As we go to press, there have been protests at London’s US embassy and in cities throughout America where men, women, queers, trans, non-binary people, black and white are committed to resistance and change. In Britain, we too have much work to do to protect the rights we’ve won and to fight poverty, racism and prejudice against those with disabilities. To this end, we continue to support all those who are engaged in struggle for equality and justice. Whether it’s Stonewall, BlackLivesMatter or individual lesbian, bi, queer and trans activists, we stand with you. We stood with the anti-bullying charity, Diversity Role Models, as proud sponsors of their recent fundraiser event (p84) and we stand with our cover stars, Rose and Rosie (p36), as they continue to spread their message of love and visibility. We stand with our courageous contributors (p14) who make DIVA the community magazine that it is. Never before has it felt more important to join together in our similarities and differences, against those who would challenge and erode our hard-won rights.