PHIL SAMBA & SHAHMIR SANNI
Phil Samba, 29, an activist working in sexual health, and Vote Leave “whistleblower” Shahmir Sanni, 25, join arms in the battle for queer inclusion
What is your mission statement?
P: To improve the mental and sexual health of as many people as possible.
S: To obliterate oppressive structures within Western society. Why do you think you’re a perfect pairing for the front cover?
P: I suggested Shahmir because he’s my height! I also thought it would work well having two queer activists of colour.
S: Phil is a good friend. It’s almost brotherly. What do you love most about each other, and what are you particularly proud of the other for?
P: He’s going to kill me for this, but he’s hilarious. He has a serious job and he is a serious person but he can be very silly.
S: His ability to empathise. It’s why he does the work that he does. He is on the ground doing it, a lot of the time for free which annoys me. Pride is this big umbrella and then we have UK Black Pride and Trans Pride. What are your thoughts on how the movement has progressed?
P: It’s an incredible thing. There is a narrative that certain people can’t be queer, a lot of erasure when it comes to
black men, particularly masculine black men. If we only have Pride in London, they’re not going to feel included and represented. It’s the same for trans people.
S: People tend to forget that Pride is not meant to be consistent. It’s meant to develop with the LGBTQ community. What do you think the LGBTQ community needs to work on?
P: We have issues with inclusion. We can be very divisive. But we’re all seen one way by right- wing media. We should be embracing of each other.
S: There is a strong resistance to the continuation of LGBTQ political movements purely because the political environment outside it is so toxic. Let’s not talk about Brexit. Let’s not talk about the fact black trans women are being killed in the United States. Let’s not talk about abortion laws. Are you confident it will become more political again?
S: When I came forward about the scandal about Brexit [ Vote Leave’s overspending] and I was outed, I never intended to make it about my sexuality. But when I was given the opportunity to do that, I latched on to it. I’m not just the whistlerblower, I’m the gay whistlerblower. I made my sexuality an inherent part of my political comment. @ idiosyncraticxl @ shahmiruk