J. August Richards Instagram – WE GOT MARRIED, Y’ALL!!! 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾♥️♥️♥️
For my 50th birthday, I wanted to celebrate the places that historically make me who I am: Africa, The Caribbean, Panama and The United States. The theme was carnival — as if all those places had a single, epic event. We played Reggeaton, Afrobeats and Gogo. We served shrimp ‘n grits, oxtails and vegan jambalaya. In the middle of the party, we announced that we were getting married and surprised our guests with a wedding. It was the most magical night of our lives…
On the exact same night in Nigeria, 67 people were arrested for attending what police say was a gay wedding. It was a reminder that some of the places that made us who we are, don’t always celebrate ALL that we are… Therefore, we want to dedicate our ceremony to the people of the African Diaspora and all around the world living in countries where it is illegal or unsafe to be LGBTQ… While I am grateful to be living in a country where I am able to publicly and legally marry my soulmate, we still have so much work to do to ensure the rights and safety of the entire community and our allies. We are grateful to the activists who came before us and praying for the safe release of the 67 human beings arrested in Nigeria. We thank you deeply for the love and well wishes…
Signed,
The Richards
📸 by @goldn_charmr | Posted on 01/Sep/2023 23:52:29
