Days before she was to deliver opening remarks to World Pride's human rights conference in Washington, Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, the co-founder of UK Black Pride, said she was denied entry to the United States after her visa was revoked due to her travels to Cuba earlier this year.
Opoku-Gyimah, widely known as Lady Phyll, said she applied immediately for a nonimmigrant visa. The earliest date she was given: September.
"I've called. I've written. I've pleaded," she said over a video livestream. "And the answer was a cold, bureaucratic 'No.'"
Many LGBTQ travelers have expressed concerns or decided to skip World Pride due to anxieties about safety, border policies and a hostile political climate. Yet cross-national strategizing has still been central to the gathering as international attendees echoed that they wanted to send a clear message of opposition to U.S. officials with their presence.
"This is World Pride on Trump's doorstep," said Yasmin Benoit, a British model and asexual activist. "And that's all the more reason to be here. We want to show the U.S. that there's a lot of eyes on what's happening here."