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After two long years, Torontos Pride Parade is back on Sunday where members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community and allies will march along downtown streets to celebrate diversity and protest for equal rights for everyone.

One distinguished guest who will be in attendance is this years International Grand Marshal Dr. Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, widely known as Lady Phyll.

As the co-founder and executive director of UK Black Pride and the the executive director of human rights charity Kaleidoscope Trust, Lady Phyll is a renowned advocate for the 2SLGBTQ community worldwide.

In January, Lady Phyll received an honourary doctorate from London South Bank University for her work in the fight against homophobia, sexism and racism in the U.K. and globally.

Toronto Pride is Lady Phylls first pride event after the global COVID-19 lockdown, but this is not her first time being honoured with a prestigious role. In 2019, she was the grand marshal at New Yorks World Pride.

CP24.com spoke to Lady Phyll about being Toronto Prides international grand marshal, her accomplishments in human rights advocacy and what work needs to be done to achieve equal rights for the 2SLGBTQ+ community.

CP24: Can you tell us a little about yourself and why you decided to work in human rights advocacy?

Lady Phyll: I guess I've always known that I was different and I've always asked questions, been really inquisitive about justice and social justice. I went to a school which was predominantly white. And, you know, we were taught everything about the Battle of Hastings 1066, Christopher Columbus, but we were never taught enough about our histories and Herstories. So I think I dug deeper, I wanted to read about Audre Lorde, Bell Hooks, James Baldwin. And I also came out and had a greater understanding of self and wanted to dig deep and know what have our communities looked like in the past? What hasn't been done, what activities do we do to amplify ourselves? So that has been that whole trajectory and I've also been a really staunch trade unionist. So you know, workers rights have been incredibly important to me and when you connect and intertwine all of that it just makes for all the ingredients about moving forward where social justice is concerned.

CP24: Can you tell us about UK Black Pride and Kaleidoscope Trust?

LP: I lead this amazing international LGBT+ organization called Kaleidoscope Trust, which works to uphold human rights for LGBT+ people across the globe, primarily in the Commonwealth. Ive been in that role for three years now and I have the fortunate pleasure of working with some of the most amazing activists.

With UK Black Pride, it's been in existence since 2005. We are really about that education piece; that love, hope, joy, celebration and protests and understanding the different intersections where our communities meet. So from Black and brown peoples, who are looking at race, gender, class, religion, faith, belief, maturity, and our young people looking at housing and all other aspects of what 2SLGBTQ+ people really, really want to focus on.

CP24: When did you find out about being Pride Torontos International Grand Marshal and how excited are you?

LP: I think I found out about three months ago and when I was told by the executive director of Pride Toronto I literally jumped off the chair and I started screaming with excitement. Because to be the international grand marshal is not just sending a message of solidarity, but it's connecting all of the work around the world and bringing love, joy, hope, the elements of being part of this wider global movement of 2SLGBTQIA+ people. It's just thrilling.

CP24: Have you been to Toronto before?

LP: I've been to Toronto before. I've seen some work out here, working with activists and leaders, and grassroots community activists, I should say, around global Black pride, and we're speaking about a human rights conference that will be coming to Toronto in July.

CP24: What do you like about the city?

LP: The people. You know, I'm single so I can actually mingle with beautiful people, beautiful energy. The hospitality is just so on point. I haven't actually been to other places and felt this much love. And it's not just because I'm the international grand marshal. I think people genuinely, especially after this lockdown period where we haven't had a pride (event) for two years, haven't been able to connect. It just feels like it's meant to be.

CP24: What pride events are you attending this weekend?

LP: I'll be making sure I'm present at the trans rally. I'll be there at the Dyke March. I'll be there at the main stage. But also just connecting with as many people as possible through the parade, seeing families come out for the first time, meeting young queer people who this may be their first experience of pride and also finding time to eat and breathe as well. That's quite important.

CP24: Are you familiar with past conflicts between Pride Toronto and Black Lives Matter Toronto? How do you think the organizations should collaborate going forward?

LP: I guess this is not about me being familiar with the history of Black lives matter here in Toronto, but it's being familiar with the issues that face Black people and Black queer people. So if there's anything that Pride Toronto and organizations like Blackness Yes and Blockorama should be doing is working collaboratively and understanding the nuances and complexities and the beautiful nature of how our organizations and individuals should be able to coexist together.

I would say there's things that need to be addressed and looked at, and this could be the ways in how structural, systemic issues play out for for Black queer people in terms of housing, education, in terms of poverty. And some of that has to be looked at in line with how MPs take forward their work, how communities are well resourced and well funded. And more importantly, what visibility and amplification of the great work that they do takes place.

READ MORE: Black Lives Matter stages sit-in at Toronto Pride Parade

CP24: What does pride mean for you?

LP: I guess pride means so many different things. It can mean a home, it can mean chosen family, it can mean love, it can mean solidarity, it can mean togetherness, it can mean connecting. I think what this pride is going to be showing us today is the power of movements. And the power of movements when we come together and we turn up the volume on society. It means it makes it absolutely impossible to ignore us, erase us and to forget about us.

I just like to add that I think that we've got to understand pride is a movement and it's a process and it's one that has to be celebrated with so many different people because that's what makes our movement strong. It's not just for one particular group, it is really for everyone to enjoy themselves and that's exactly what I'm gonna do.

CP24: What other projects are you working on?

LP: We have UK Black Pride which is Sunday the 14th of August. As you know, everyone is welcome. It's going to be a beautiful celebration and protest of, you know, Black and POC (People of Colour) queer people celebrating themselves, loving on one another, enjoying the space that's been created for them and by them.

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Pride is 'for everyone to enjoy themselves,' Q&A with Pride Toronto's International Grand Marshal Lady Phyll - CP24 Toronto's Breaking News

PHOENIX (AP) The Arizona Capitol was ringed with a double barrier of fencing with concertina wire strung between the barriers Monday after three straight nights of protests prompted by the U.S. Supreme Courts ruling overturning womens constitutional right to abortion left some memorials damaged.

The protests were mainly peaceful and led to only a handful of arrests, but the actions of small groups of people led to the damage and decision to erect the fencing Saturday, authorities said. The Arizona National Guard added the razor wire on Sunday.

The protests on Friday night, which came hours after the Supreme Court issued its opinion striking down Roe v. Wade and as the Legislature was meeting to complete its 2022 session, were the largest. The Arizona Department of Public Safety estimated that between 7,000 and 8,000 people gathered at the Capitol.

All was peaceful until about 8:30 p.m., when a small number of protesters began beating on the glass front of the state Senate and at least one person tried to kick in a sliding glass door. Dozens of state troopers were lined up just inside, but the group did not stop until an unannounced volley of tear gas was launched toward them from the second floor of of the old state Capitol building less than a hundred feet away.

A spokesman for the Department of Public Safety, Bart Graves, confirmed that no warning was given. He said state troopers were protecting lawmakers working inside.

These rioters knew exactly what was at stake here and knew what our job is there and they continued to try to bust in anyway, Graves said.

The commotion led senators to cut short an ongoing vote and flee to the basement. They returned about 20 minutes later, but lingering tear gas pulled into the large room by the buildings ventilation system forced the 30 senators and staff, reporters and the public to move to a meeting room where the air was fresher for the sessions final hours.

After the tear gas was deployed, most of the crowd either left or went into a nearby plaza packed with dozens of memorials. Tear gas was again deployed, this time with a warning and announcement first.

On Saturday morning, damage was obvious, with memorials and walls and concrete walls spray painted with Abort the Court and unpublishable phrases. Efforts to scrub it off were ongoing Monday.

No arrests were made Friday night, Graves said. On Saturday evening a crowd of about 1,200 people protested. After most had left, and as midnight approached, several people pulled down a section of fencing, leading to four arrests.

Fewer than 200 people protested Sunday night and five people were arrested on minor charges. No injuries were reported all weekend.

Many Republicans hailed state troopers and criticized the protestors. Democrats also praised state police and denounced protesters who were violent, while saying they want an investigation of the state police action.

Abortion providers across Arizona stopped performing the procedures Friday because they feared prosecution. Arizona has a pre-statehood law banning all abortions and a law granting legal rights to unborn children that abortion providers fear could be used to bring charges.

The Capitol was last ringed with fencing after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by backers of then-President Donald Trump and after Black Lives Matter protests following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in May 2020.

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Capitol ringed with fencing after days of Roe protests - The Associated Press - en Espaol

When Roe v. Wade was overturned last Friday, a million hot takes like the following (by a Democratic consultant) hit the internet:

This is an attempt to own pro-life activists by saying: Here is the logical result of your court ruling. How do you like that, cons?!

You see this everywhere. Heres Hollywood actor Ken Olin with the same brilliant OWN:

Most pro-lifers would support all of the above. And so it has been with every single conservative Supreme Court ruling this summer. Prominent liberals who apparently have gone through their whole life never talking to a conservative who cares about abortion, gun rights, school choice, or religious liberty have threatened to give conservatives something they thought conservatives would hate.

Heres a liberal commentator calling for less casual sex to own the cons:

Moving to guns, check out this nakedly racist LA Times column, promoting a trope that I've never seen any real gun-rights advocate embrace.

Or this, by a liberal author with 290,000 Twitter followers.

That gem evoked the typical reply that any conservative knows to give:

Conservatives love school choice. And an Islamic school in Maine might be the most socially conservative and least-woke school in all of Maine. Were supposed to oppose state funding going toward such an institution?

My only objection is that the state, after this current ruling, would only provide this Muslim-school tuition to parents who lack a government-run school in their district. Why limit it there?

Then the libs did it again on Monday, when the Supreme Court ruled that prayer, like other speech, is protected. Here was a typical reaction, this one from a liberal outlet with nearly half a million followers.

So, wait do these people actually think Sam Alito and Amy Coney Barrett would hate the idea of Muslim coaches praying on their own after a football game?

Really, Really American?

Perhaps all of these commentators and operatives are really this ignorant. Perhaps they have never spoken to a pro-lifer about abortion and unwanted pregnancy, to a gun-rights activist about gun ownership, or to a school choice or religious-liberty champion about free exercise and school choice. The other possibility is that these public figures just enjoy stirring up hatred among their followers.

Neither explanation reflects well on any of them. And this, such as it is, is the inherent advantage that conservatives have in the culture wars. We are constantly exposed to the Left's views. They have been shoved down our throats for decades. We know and understand their arguments. Many on the Left are exposed only to caricatures of our views. They can't even conceive of the idea that there are other views.

We know our enemy better than they do.

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Yes, liberals, please own the cons - Washington Examiner

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As protests and acts of vandalism pop up across the country after the Supreme Court's ruling in favor of the State of Mississippi in relegating abortion regulatory authorities to individual state governments, demonstrators were criticized for being somewhat "ignorant" of the true facts of the decision.

Pointing out that the unrest has largely been in Democrat-run cities and states like New York, Washington and Montpelier, Vt., Fox News host Greg Gutfeld commented on "The Five" that the pro-choice advocates there don't necessarily need to worry about abortion being banned.

"It's interesting: a lot of the protests are in cities that aren't going to be affected by it," he said. "And so I think what you're going to see is just a lot of kind of like this: There's a lot of ignorance going around. A lot of people don't know what this means."

ABORTION RULING: DEMOCRATS SAY FOLLOW THE SCIENCE ON EVERY ISSUE EXCEPT ROE, MARK LEVIN SAYS

Suspected vandals outside pro-life center in Lynchburg, Virginia. The Blue Ridge Pregnancy Center was vandalized following Supreme Court overturning Roe. V. Wade. (Lynchburg Police Department)

While several states have "trigger laws" that made abortion illegal following any overturn of Roe v. Wade, many jurisdictions like New York and the District of Columbia are not likely to follow suit, despite some protesters' concerns about a nationwide ban.

Gutfeld referenced "famous liberals" renouncing citizenship over the ruling as celebrities like Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong vowed to renounce his U.S, citizenship while performing in England, declaring "f--- America" and telling fans he planned to stay in Great Britain.

"Good luck finding a country that has abortion-on-demand like the United States," Gutfeld said. "If you look at any map of Europe, you're going to find out that most countries in Western Europe and elsewhere are like pretty much more strict."

JEFFREY TOOBIN BLASTED FOR HISSY FIT OVER SUPREME COURT'S GUN RIGHTS RULING

Vandals break seven windows at Vermont Statehouse (Montpelier PD)

In Phoenix, legislators were in-session when the State Capitol was converged upon by protesters to the extent police needed to deploy nonlethal chemicals. Some Republicans claimed the unrest an "insurrection", while Sen. Kelly Townsend, R-Pinal, declared the need for a January 6-style panel.

"We smell tear gas and the children of one of the members are in the office sobbing with fear. I expect a [June]-24 committee to be created immediately," she said.

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Fox News host Jesse Watters called the unrest there a "rampag[e]", adding a Colorado pregnancy center was also "torched" by "extremists."

Protesters also attacked the Vermont State Capitol in Montpelier with vandalism and graffiti, which host Dana Perino pointed out is not only wrong on its face but misguided in that Vermont legislators previously codified abortion as a right in the State Constitution.

"I don't know why are they attacking in the state capital in Vermont -- That doesn't make any sense," she said.

Charles Creitz is a reporter forFox News Digital.

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Pro-choice liberals blasted for 'ignorance' of abortion ruling, as unrest grips blue cities - Fox News

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Vice President Kamala Harris faced a rare bipartisan attack on Twitter following a post about fighting for abortion "rights" from Friday night.

On her official vice president Twitter account, Harris posted an image of herself watching CNNs coverage of pro-choice protests while flying on Air Force 2.

"I know there are women out there who are afraid. To those of you who feel alone and scared: I want you to know the President and I are fighting for you and your rights. We are in this fight together," Harris tweeted.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks with members of the press before boarding Air Force Two at Buffalo Niagara International Airport, May 28, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

After the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade case, several pro-choice protests broke out throughout the country with riots taking place in major cities.

STACEY ABRAMS WARNS BUSINESSES TO CONSIDER DANGER GOV. BRIAN KEMPS ABORTION LAWS POSE TO WOMEN IN GEORGIA

Although several other Democrat politicians denounced the courts decision, many liberal Twitter users called out Harris tweet as being too vague and meaningless.

"Could you be specific? Like, *how* are you fighting? Describe the tactics, explain the policy, give us the rundown," New York Magazine contributor Hillary Kelly wrote.

Actor James Urbaniak joked, "I want you to know: we are watching TV."

"Um. 36,000 feet above everything, watching on a big a-- TV in a private plane, and the message is we're in this together? I'm not sure you guys get where the rest of us are at right now," Daily Kos writer Joan McCarter posted.

AOC WONDERS IF PRO-LIFE DEMOCRATS SHOULD CONTINUE TO SERVE: WE REALLY NEED TO REASSESS

Vice President Kamala Harris waves as she departs the Tribal Nations Summit on the White House campus, Nov. 16, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

"Not VP Kamala Harris watching the erosion of #RoeVsWade from her plane, at a distance. Whoever thought this was good photo-op needs to be fired immediately. This is literally the embodiment of thoughts and prayers," writer Anna Gifty tweeted.

Sports writer Trent Reinsmith similarly echoed, "So, more or less, 'thoughts and prayers...'"

Ernest Owens, editor-at-large for Philadelphia magazine, tweeted to Harris, "Change his mind on this [changing the filibuster to protect abortion rights] and I'll believe you."

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks about reproductive rights as she virtually meets with abortion providers at the White House on May 19, 2022. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

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In 2021, court documents indicated that Harris colluded with abortion providers as she worked a case against pro-life journalist David Daleiden as California's attorney general.

More recently in May, Harris met virtually with abortion providers at the White House to discuss the potential impact of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.

Lindsay Kornick is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to lindsay.kornick@fox.com and on Twitter: @lmkornick.

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Kamala Harris tweet on abortion rights slammed by liberals: Literally the embodiment of thoughts and prayers - Fox News