Triangle Project, the Commission for Gender Equality and Good Hope Metropolitan Community Churches have reacted with dismay and outrage at yet another alleged racial incident at a gay establishment in the heart of the gay village in Cape Town.

Triangle Project’s community engagement and empowerment manager, Marlow Valentine says that Aridi Amipi is one of the few persons to step forward to do something constructive about racist tension caused by bouncers acting on a mandate from the business owners.

“Discrimination and prejudice is an evil that needs to be uprooted. It permeates our entire being and often leads to acts of hate and violence towards LGBTI persons. Gay and lesbian people support these establishments with our presence and money; if these businesses are perpetuating destructive cycles of marginalisation based on race and culture, then in essence we (the LGBTI community) are supporting this by not speaking out by actively and proactively addressing these issues.”

Keegan Lakay, legal officer at the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) has taken on Amipi’s case after referral from Triangle Project.
“Mr Amipi’s application has been forwarded to the Equality Court for submission. After the application has been lodged with the magistrate, the respondent will have seven working days to respond and submit papers after which a date will be set for the case to be heard. Mr Amipi will be returning to Cape Town as this issue is far too important to ignore,” says the CGE’s Lakay.

Amipi was a member of the Good Hope Metropolitan Community Church before returning to Belgium. The church’s Sharon Cox said: “It’s not only despicable that this still happens, it would be appalling to allow this type of victimisation to continue. We respect the fact that people have choices to socialise where they are comfortable and the fact that businesses have ‘right of admission’ policies; but when these policies are used to keep certain people out based on their race, then we need to advocate an end to this blatant form of discrimination”.

Inequality rooted in power and privilege results in hate, fragmentation, violence and often death as proven by the brutal attacks on black lesbians in townships, and highlighted during the recent launch of the End-to-Hate 07-07-07-Campaign by the Western Cape Alliance. Turning a blind eye to one more black person refused entry on the basis of his or her skin colour means that negative attitudes and harmful stereotypes still dictate the way we live and socialise in South Africa.

Triangle Project’s Marlow Valentine concluded: “Our message is loud and clear. Not only are we addressing issues of homo-prejudice based on race, class, status, gender and sexual orientation within the public domain, but we will be doing the LGBTI community a disservice if issues of prejudice and discrimination are left unaddressed within the LGBTI community itself. We need to claim our constitutional rights and ensure that the destructive cycles of apathy and non-activism are addressed with the same vigour as issues addressed in the broader society.”

LGBTI persons of colour who have experienced victimization at social spaces like The Bronx are encouraged to continue to forward their complaints in writing to Triangle Project. These will be collated and forwarded to the Commission for Gender Equality for submission to the Equality Court. All correspondence will be treated in the strictest of confidence and anonymity will be ensured ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it / 021-4483812).

This is a joint media release by Triangle Project; The Commission for Gender Equality and Good Hope Metropolitan Community Churches.