Rainbow Community Angels is a community-led, identity-affirming, grassroots movement and safety initiative. based in Naarm/Melbourne in Victoria. We launched in May 2023 with just 5 volunteers and have grown to over 150 trained Angels across Victoria.
Rainbow Community Angels take part in peaceful actions that create a welcoming atmosphere and supports community safety events like Rainbow Family events, Rainbow Storytime at your local libraries, and identity-affirming Pride Formals for LGBTIQA+ young people that, unfortunately, have a small chance of being targeted as part of a broader rise of far-right extremism and politically motivated transphobia, biphobia, homophobia and hate speech in Australia.
Your online and in person support enables us to train and empower LGBTIQA+ people and allies to stand together in solidarity for LGBTIQA+ inclusion in our local communities and enhance community safety by engaging in non-violent community mobilisations at these LGBTIQA+ affirming and inclusive events.
How you can help…
- Train to be an Angel: attend a training session or contact us to ask to host one where you live or work
- Donate to help us print t-shirts, maintain the wings, share resources with Angels around Victoria (and beyond!)
- Volunteer your skills and expertise: help spread the word about our movement, helping to organise volunteers at our events, play the role of DJ by managing our playlist of queer anthems, support our training delivery, create content, help our Committee and more!
- Follow and share our posts on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn
Who are the Angels?
We’re parents, teachers, librarians, entertainers, artists, youth workers, retirees and professionals from a wide range of industries. We’re friends, family members, LGBTIQA+ community members, allies and loved ones. Our youngest Angels stand with their parent/guardians alongside us at mobilisations and our oldest Angels are retirees in their seventies,
We’re all united in the idea that everyone has the right to enjoy LGBTIQA+ affirming and inclusive events and celebrations and we exist to help create the best conditions for that to happen. We work to create accessible, affirming and safer spaces for people of all ages and abilities to attend training and participate in actions. Anyone who upholds our aims and ways of working will be welcome to join our movement.
What do the Angels do at these events?
People can participate in a range of ways:
- Some will wear magnificent rainbow angel wings, shielding attendees entering the event from seeing any hostile protesters who are present.
- Some will act as marshals, assisting with communication and safety for Rainbow Community Angels, event staff and participants.
- Some will liaise as needed with media, event organisers, performers, security, police and others.
- Sometimes community call outs will be promoted via Facebook, especially when events are under threat and we need more people to build a beautiful rainbow gathering.
Our actions and values
Through our actions we strive to :
- Empower LGBTIQA+ people to stand up for their rights to safety, visibility and equality, especially in their local communties.
- Support the efforts of councils, libraries, youth services, small businesses and others to include and celebrate LGBTIQA+ people and rainbow families in their local communities.
- Celebrate our values of solidarity, radical trust and queer joy.
Angels: a proud and peaceful LGBTIQA+ tradition
Angels have become a proud and peaceful LGBTIQA+ tradition.
- The first were classmates of Matthew Shepard, a young gay man murdered in Colorado in 1998. They used their Angel wings to shield his family and community from homophobic protesters at his murderers’ trial.
- In 2016, Angels shielded mourners at the funerals of Orlando (Florida, US) Pulse nightclub shooting victims, again shielding them from homophobic protesters.
- In 2016 and again in 2017 in Melbourne (Victoria, Australia) Angels welcomed LGBTIQA+ youth to the Minus 18 Queer Formal in St Kilda, when homophobes threatened to picket it (they stayed away).
- In 2023, on the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT), hundreds of Angels and allies formed a large, dancing, rainbow human shield, effectively creating safe passage for familiies to bring their children to a Rainbow Storytime event at Eltham Library as a counterpoint to the organised groups of bigots and far-right groups who came along to disrupt the event.
- And we will continue to rise when love is needed to overcome hate and fear.