February is LGBT History Month in the UK and we hope you join us in celebrating, raising awareness and keeping LGBT+ people visible and safe.
The goal of LGBT History Month, as outlined on the lgbthistorymonth.org.uk website:
The overall aim of LGBT History month is to promote equality and diversity for the benefit of the public.
This is done by:
- Increasing the visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (“LGBT”) people, their history, lives and their experiences in the curriculum and culture of educational and other institutions, and the wider community;
- Raising awareness and advancing education on matters affecting the LGBT community;
- Working to make educational and other institutions safe spaces for all LGBT communities; and
- Promoting the welfare of LGBT people, by ensuring that the education system recognises and enables LGBT people to achieve their full potential, so they contribute fully to society and lead fulfilled lives, thus benefiting society as a whole.
There will be hundreds of special events, exhibitions, film screenings, talks and other activities organised throughout the month of February, in London and the rest of the UK. Check out this London event calendar for more details AND OUTing The Past festival page.
Here are a few highlights to start you off:
- LSE exhibition (£free): ‘In memory of Naomi Hersi: the impalpable lives and history of queer and trans and intersex people of colour‘. Running from Monday, 4 Feb. – Friday, 15 Feb.
“In celebrating LGBT+ History month, we wave rainbows and celebrate the great wins and struggles of the queer movement – but we often do so only utilising a very narrow discourse. We often do not include the most continuously marginalised voices in the common narrative of LGBT+ History in Britain. Queer, trans and intersex people of colour (QTIPOC) face extreme and disproportionate levels of violence, racism and discrimination across the globe.”
- Friday, 8 Feb. at 6pm / Student’s Union UCL Event: Pride Panel Discussion (UCL members, £free but ticket required)
“As part of the 2019 Pride in Team UCL week, the LGBT+ Network and Sports Officers would like to invite all our UCL students, LGBT+ or not, to our panel discussion. In this session, the panellists will be discussing their experiences of being LGBT+ in sport, organising LGBT+ specific sports programs, and how sports can be more accessible to LGBT+ people in general.”
- Saturday, 9 Feb. at 6pm at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich (£free, ticket required) – OUTing the Past event.
“Our chosen theme for this year’s festival will explore the experiences and perspectives of queer youth at different points in history. This evening is guaranteed to ignite community spirit and general curiosity by revealing powerful political ideologies and social accounts from urban landscapes and marginalised groups in the UK.”
- Tuesday, 12 Feb. at 7.30pm £free tickets to ‘Leave to Remain‘ show. Email Jovita joadom@syr.edu if you’d like a ticket – first come, first served.
“A modern love story with music by Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke.
Give me your worst day
I’ll take the strain
Give me all the times you go insane
Your leave to remain”
- Save the date: Wednesday, 27 Feb. at 5.30pm / Syracuse London Symposium: “Brave Space”: Queer Histories and Identities in London. More details at sulondon.syr.edu/brave-space.
If you do attend an event, even it’s not one of the ones highlighted above, remember you can always reflect on your experience for a Syracuse London Passport stamp! I would love to hear your thoughts, stories so please come and have a chat with me in the office – Jovita.
Also, grab an LGBT History Month badge in Faraday Commons and we hope you wear it with pride.
More to come, so watch this space…
Photo credit: Jovita Adom