People
Alex Sangha Makes History As Vancouver Pride Parade's First Sikh Grand Marshal
MAHAM ABEDI
Canada’s Prime Minister wasn't the only person making history at Vancouver's Pride parade on Sunday, July 31, 2016.
Alex Singh Sangha was one of the annual procession's Grand Marshals this year and it was a big deal -- for several reasons.
Alex, who is the founder of an LGBTQ support group for South Asians called ‘Sher Vancouver‘, was the first-ever Sikh Grand Marshal of the parade, now in its 38th year.
"I used to feel like an outsider, as a person of colour, as a minority in the mainstream gay-lesbian community," Alex said.
"And now as a Pride Marshal, they're recognizing me and acknowledging me. I feel like, wow, I'm being embraced."
Along with Alex, this year's parade had two other grand marshals -- trans activist Morgane Oger and Syrian gay-rights activist Danny Ramadan.
They marched in the same parade where Justin Trudeau became the first sitting Prime Minister to take part in the Vancouver event. The PM's wife and three kids, as well as Defence Minister Harjit Singh Sajjan and several other members of the Liberal caucus marched in the parade.
Alex wore traditional Punjabi attire -- a bright red kurta, or tunic, and a multi-coloured scarf -- in the parade, but embracing his heritage while being gay hasn't always been easy for the Surrey resident.
Growing up, Alex wished he was straight and even contemplated suicide.
"It was very hard for me to come out of the closet," he said.
Alex, a social worker who also blogs for The Huffington Post Canada, says more South Asians are now coming out as LGBTQ and finding acceptance within the community. But there still is a long way to go.
Many South Asians are reluctant to accept their queer family members, and often force them into heterosexual marriages, Alex added.
But having such a prominent place in the Vancouver Pride parade is great progress in his struggle for acceptance, he said.
"It's like I'm coming full-circle."
[Courtesy: Huffington Post. Edited for sikhchic.com]
August 2, 2016
Conversation about this article
1: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom ), August 05, 2016, 9:46 PM.
It's awesome to think that Sikhism has no discrimination whatsoever and sexuality is not even an issue!
2: R Singh (Surrey, British Columbia, Canada), August 14, 2016, 1:51 AM.
Well said, Baldev Singh ji: "The benefactor of us all is The ONE, whom I should not forget."