Cheryl

Presenting Sarah Savage

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Feb 032016
 

sarah-smallContinuing the posts about our headline speakers for the 2016 National Festival of LGBT History, we have a key figure in the UK’s trans community.

Sarah Savage was one of the stars of the TV series, My Transsexual Summer, which was instrumental in paving the way for broad acceptance of trans people in British society.

Since then Sarah has gone on to become one of the founders of Brighton’s Trans Pride, an event that has grown exponentially over the first few years of its life.

Last year Sarah co-wrote a children’s book, Are You A Boy or Are You A Girl?. This tells the story of Tiny, a young person whose gender is never mentioned, and who feels free to play in all sorts of ways, free of gender stereotypes.

Sarah will be speaking as part of the full day of events at M Shed on Saturday Feb. 20th.

Presenting Stuart Milk

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Feb 022016
 

Stuart Milk, photo by Brook PiferContinuing the posts about our headline speakers for the 2016 National Festival of LGBT History, we are delighted to have a guest all the way from the USA.

Stuart Milk is a global LGBT human rights activist and political speaker. He’s also the nephew of the late US civil rights campaigner Harvey Milk. Stuart’s Uncle Harvey was the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California, and was responsible for passing a gay rights ruling for the city of San Francisco in 1978. In that same year, Harvey was assassinated by Dan White, who was also serving in public office.

Stuart, who says that his uncle’s assassination destroyed the ‘closet door’ and inspired him to come out, is the co-founder and president of the Harvey Milk Foundation. Travelling the world speaking on public policy and civil rights issues, he’s received numerous international awards for his work.

Stuart will be in Bristol for several days and has a packed schedule of meetings, public events and media appearances. In particular he will be doing the following:

Recently Stuart talked to Cheryl Morgan for Shoutout Radio. You can listen to the broadcast here.

Presenting Phyll Opoku-Gyimah

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Feb 012016
 

LadyPhyllIt is time to meet our headline speakers for the 2016 National Festival of LGBT History. Our Guest activist for the Civic Launch will be Phyll Opoku-Gyimah.

As the co-founder and Executive Director of UK Black Pride, it is safe to say that she is one of the leading lights behind the amazing celebration of Black LGBT communities. She has been named in the Independent Rainbow List as one of the top 100 most influential LGBT people.

She has worked tirelessly to bring together LGBT activists, artists, volunteers and supporters from within the LGBT community and beyond to support UK Black Pride and other such events. She was nominated as Woman of the Year at the Black LGBT Community Awards 2007.

A Civil Servant by profession, she took a job in the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Trade Union where she started off trailblazing as the only Black female lead negotiator within Law and Justice bargaining area, then was promoted to Head of Equality, Health & Safety. She went on to be the Head of Campaigns and Parliamentary Affairs.

In 2014, Phyll served one year on the Pride London Community Advisory Board (CAB) and currently sits on the TUC LGBT Committee, TUC Race Relations Committee, board member of Justice for Gay Africans which focuses on Human Rights, Equal Rights, challenging racism and discrimination. She is a newly appointed Trustee for Stonewall, and this yeat was one of the judged for the Independent Rainbow List.

In addition to speaking at the Civic Launch, Phyll will be giving a public talk as part of the events at M Shed on Saturday Feb. 20th.

21 Feb 2016 – LGBT History Festival – Local History Day

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Jan 272016
 

The Sunday of Bristol’s contribution to the 2016 National Festival of LGBT History will see a range of talks about the many amazing stories of LGBT people who have lived and worked in Bristol, plus an original theatre performance commissioned for this event. All talks are at M Shed, and are free to attend.

When: Sunday, 21 February 2016 from 13:00 to 16:30

Where: Studio Rooms, M Shed – Wapping Road Bristol BS1 4RN

The programme of talks is as follows:

Studio Two:

  • 13:00 Up The Step, Behind the Curtain – Andrew Foyle, OutStories Bristol
  • 13:40 Mary Renault and The Charioteer – Jonathan Rowe
  • 14:20 Making Gaywaves – Community Radio for LGBT People in the West Country – Terry Starr, ShoutOut Radio
  • 15:00 Devils in Human Shape: Sodomy and the Law in 18th Century Bristol – Prof. Steve Poole, University of the West of England

Studio One:

Professor Poole’s talk will be followed by a theatrical presentation by Tom Marshman based on the historical events described.

20 Feb 2016 – LGBT History Festival – National History Day

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Jan 272016
 

The Saturday of Bristol’s contribution to the 2016 National Festival of LGBT History will see a range of speakers from all of the UK, and one from the USA, presenting free talks at M Shed.

When: Saturday, 20 February 2016 from 11:00 to 16:30

Where: Studio Rooms, M Shed – Wapping Road Bristol BS1 4RN

The programme of talks is as follows:

IMPORTANT – Schedule changes: Stuart Milk now 12:20, Bisi Alimi cancelled. See below.

Studio Two:

  • 11:00 UK Black Pride: How far we have come? – Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, UK Black Pride
  • 11:40 LGBT Rights in the Workplace – Now & Then – Julia Beasley, QualitySolicitors Boroughs Day
  • 12:20: Stuart Milk
  • 13:20 Bisexuals of Colour: The Past Influencing the Present and Shaping the Future – Jacq Applebee
  • 14:00 Pride of Place: ‘Gay Buildings’ and England’s LGBTQ Heritage – Sandra Stancliffe, Historic England
  • 14:40 LGBT History: is it all one shade? – Travis Alabanza
  • 15:20 Creating Trans Pride – Sarah Savage

Studio One:

  • 11:00 Educating OUT prejudice – Em Williams
  • 11:40 Sources for LGBT history: an archivist’s perspective – Allie Dillon, Bristol Records Office
  • 12:20 Break
  • 13:20 Beyond The Well of Loneliness: Radclyffe Hall in the Archive – Jana Funke, Exeter University
  • 14:00 Forgotten Histories: Trans Activists of Colour – Sabah Choudrey
  • 14:40 Gay Liberation, Sexual Revolution & Radical Queens – Stuart Feather
  • 15:20 Out and Proud in Trade unions – Darienne Flemington & Mark Kelly, UNISON

19 Feb 2016 – LGBT History Festival – Civic Launch

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Jan 262016
 

Bristol’s part in the 2016 National Festival of LGBT History gets underway with a formal Civic Launch at our main venue, the M Shed Museum. Our Festival will be formally launched by The Right Honourable, The Lord Mayor of Bristol, Councillor Clare Campion-Smith.

The event will feature addresses from Phyll Opoku-Gyimah of UK Black Pride and Stuart Milk of the Harvey Milk Foundation. There will also be a guest historical presentation from Jeff Evans of Manchester Metropolitan University.

A limited number of tickets is being made available free to the general public. We expect to release more later once we have heard back from all invited guests. To book a place at this free event, register here.

When: Friday, 19 February 2016 from 18:00 to 20:00

Where: The Event Suite, M Shed – Wapping Road Bristol BS1 4RN

17 Feb 2016 – The Enduring Legacy of Harvey Milk with Stuart Milk

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Jan 252016
 

Harvey_Milk_Foundation_LogoHarvey Milk’s Enduring Legacy on LGBT Rights – a global perspective accompanied by the full a screening of the 90 minute Academy Award winning documentary, The Times of Harvey Milk.

Harvey Milk was an openly gay man who was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Milk was assassinated after just 11 months in office, but his death sparked a wave a gay rights activism across the USA.

Robert Epstein’s documentary film, The Times of Harvey Milk, chronicles Milk’s story. It won an Academy Award for Best Documentary in 1984.

Stuart Milk is Harvey’s nephew. After his uncle’s death, Stuart helped found the Milk Foundation which campaigns globally for LGBT rights. Stuart will introduce the screening, and answer questions about the film and his work afterwards.

When: Wednesday, 17 February 2016 from 18:45 to 21:00
Where: Queens Building 1.15 Small Lecture Theatre, University Walk, Bristol, BS8 1TR

To ensure a place at this free event, please register here.

Presenting Pagelight Productions

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Jan 222016
 

Scandal-smallUpdate: sadly Ric is no longer able to be with us for the Festival.

Continuing our series of posts introducing the many speakers who will be giving talks during the LGBT History Festival at M Shed next February. Ric Brady of Pagelight Productions will be presenting “A Very Victorian Scandal” as part of the National History Day on Saturday, February 20th.

Pagelight Productions, headed by Stephen Hornby and Ric Brady, is an independent production company based in Manchester. For the 2015 National Festival of LGBT History they staged a dramatic production commissioned by the Festival. “A Very Victorian Scandal” is set in 1880 and is the story of the largest every police raid on an LGBT venue in UK history and had been largely forgotten. In Bristol this year Ric Brady will be presenting some exclusive film of the performance. He will also set out the vision for future dramatisations of the previously unknown LGBT history, the partnerships between creatives and academics and the call for submission for 2017.

Presenting UNISON

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Jan 202016
 

UNISONContinuing our series of posts introducing the many speakers who will be giving talks during the LGBT History Festival at M Shed next February. Darienne Flemington and Mark Kelly will be presenting “Out and Proud in Trade unions” as part of the National History Day on Saturday, February 20th.

Inspired by her personal experiences of border agencies, alien courts and deportation, Darienne has worked as an international activist for LGBT rights for over 20 years and was recently elected to sit on the ILGA Europe’s executive board. As a committed trade unionist she is also the Co-Chair of UNISON’s National LGBT Committee, and represents LGBT workers interests on UNISON’s National Women’s Committee. She works in local government where she is committed to fighting discrimination in all of its forms, as well as negotiating and organising for equality at work.

Mark Kelly runs a company which provides specialist support for University students who experience mental health issues. Previously he worked for 10 years at a Further Education College where he managed innovative and groundbreaking projects which engaged with socially excluded groups of young people and adults and won national praise from the Learning & Skills Council and NIACE. Mark’s role in the college also involved him managing a curriculum area, developing and delivering specialist staff training and facilitating an LGBT youth support group.

Mark has been an active trade unionist with UNISON for over 20 years and works at a local, regional and national level. He is a previous co-chair of UNISON’s National LGBT Committee and is a senior activist in UNISON’s South West Region.

Mark also works with Devon & Cornwall Police as an independent LGBT / Diversity advisor and is a trained Critical Incident Advisor.

UNISON is also sponsoring the Festival at a national level.

Presenting Travis Alabanza

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Jan 182016
 

travis-smallContinuing our series of posts introducing the many speakers who will be giving talks during the LGBT History Festival at M Shed next February. Travis Alabanza will be presenting “LGBT History: is it all one shade?” as part of the National History Day on Saturday, February 20th.

Travis Alabanza is a Black, queer, femme kid that is living, studying, creating and surviving in London. With their gender being described as nowhere near found, they write, perform, speak and curate around topics surrounding gender, sexuality, Blackness, class and being femme. Currently the LGBT+ president at King’s College London university, successfully leading the gender neutral toilet campaign at their college this year, they say they have been disrupting spaces that were not created for them since being raised in Bristol — having been involved in local Bristol LGBT+ charities EACH and ENVISION — with their project for educational LGBT+ resources winning a Diana award.

Since then their writing has appeared in numerous publications such as Black Girl Dangerous, Manon, Prancing Through Life, Beyond the Binary and Wildabout. Outside of studying they also perform poetry and performance art around venues in London, recently performing at Oxford Queer Week, Hackney Attic and Southbank Centre — with their poetry being published in the Anthology Black and Gay in the UK. Travis enjoys connecting with other Black queer folks through finding good places to eat and dance, and says their work and personhood is strongly influenced by the strength of their mother and the soul of their council estate where they grew up. You can find them on twitter @trvisalabanza and soundcloud ‘travis alabanza’.

Presenting The Bath Gender Equality Network

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Jan 152016
 

BGEN-Logo-PNGContinuing our series of posts introducing the many speakers who will be giving talks during the LGBT History Festival at M Shed next February. Members of the Bath Gender Equality Network will be talking about the campaign they ran last year on behalf of the imprisoned Bath trans woman, Tara Hudson.

The Bath Gender Equality Network (BGEN) is a group for intersectional, sex-positive feminists and their allies to discuss topics around equality, support local activism, and look after each other in the Bath and Bristol area. After the success of the recent Tara Hudson campaign, BGEN has built a diverse range of members from all walks of life, enjoying a strong presence (online and offline), socials, and forum discussions, including male mental health, trans representation, the wage gap, sex work, and even comic writing.

As part of furthering the reach and effectiveness of BGEN, plans are in place to host the first ‘public’ event in April, when we will be hosting an evening of ‘lightning talks’, inviting members of the community, and others, to speak for five minutes on the topic of gender equality. This event has received local corporate sponsorship, as well as interest from BANES council, and looks to be the first of many other exciting projects for the group.

More recently, BGEN has been asked to enter into the running for a ‘Bath Life Award’ for its work in local events, community work and education. It is hoped that this visibility will allow the group to expand and continue its work.

Presenting Tom Marshman

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Jan 132016
 

Marshman-smallContinuing our series of posts introducing the many speakers who will be giving talks during the LGBT History Festival at M Shed next February. Tom Marshman will be presenting a theatre performance as part of the Local History Day on Sunday, February 21st.

‘The Devils in Human Shape’ is an immersive performance that brings to life eighteenth-century documents detailing sodomy cases in Bristol. Through playful and sinister modes of speech, three gossipers speak of the sins committed by the ‘devils in human shape’. This experimental encounter is a brilliantly inventive new way of bringing history to life. The piece is devised and performed by Tom Marshman, Danny Prosser and Rachael Clerke.

“An incredibly charming and compelling performer who gives very evocative glimpses into everyday things.” Tanuja Amarasuriya, Theatre Bristol.

The performance is based on research done by Professor Steve Poole of the University of the West of England. Professor Poole will be giving a talk to introduce the historical events prior to the performance. The project has been made possible by funding from the Arts Council of England, by some generous donations from private patrons and by much on the ground work from volunteers.

Tom Marshman has been making performance work inspired by LGBTQ history for over 10 years and will be performing ‘The Devils in Human Shape’ in at the London and Shrewsbury hubs as well as Bristol. He is also involved in a performance at the Red Lodge Museum the previous weekend. Hot Dates with the Past is a steamy night of truths and fictions about dating history with artists Tom Marshman, Timberlina and Catherine Hoffmann.

Presenting Sabah Choudrey

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Jan 112016
 

Sabah-smallContinuing our series of posts introducing the many speakers who will be giving talks during the LGBT History Festival at M Shed next February. Sabah Choudrey will be presenting Forgotten Histories: Trans Activists of Colour, as part of the National History Day on Saturday, February 20th.

Sabah is a Pakistani trans activist with a passion for his communities. His tiny head is full of big ideas, having co-founded Trans Pride Brighton in 2012: the first trans march and celebration in the UK, and started online social and support spaces for queer, trans, and intersex people of colour in Brighton (QTIPOC Brighton), and for LGBT and queer desi people in London and the South East (desiQ).

He spent his rebellious years living in Brighton where he fell into LGBT youth work and development in LGBT BME/faith communities. He moved back to West London in 2015, where he is currently a trans youth worker for Gendered Intelligence, mentoring and facilitating groups for trans young people and trans young people of colour.

Sabah likes talking about his feelings and he likes to write about them even more; He spoke at TEDx Brixton 2015, and has been published on The Huffington Post. He shares his experiences of being a hairy brown girl, an angry brown man and a queer brown person and writes regularly on www.sabahchoudrey.com.

Presenting Terry Starr

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Jan 082016
 

ShoutOut-smallContinuing our series of posts introducing the many speakers who will be giving talks during the LGBT History Festival at M Shed next February.

Terry Starr will be presenting Making Gaywaves – Community Radio for LGBT People in the West Country, as part of the Local History Day on Sunday, February 21st.

“ShoutOut” is the largest LGBT radio programme in the South West — in fact, it’s the only one. Currently broadcast over 5 different radio stations, the show has also given rise to several offshoots and created a facebook group for gay and trans radio activists co-operate with material and mutual support.

In this presentation, Terry Starr, who had the original idea for a gay radio show on community radio in Bristol, looks back at the long struggle for radio reform in the UK, with particular reference to the LGBT communities. Did you know that the first DJ to be out on the air was Tony Allan (1950-2004), who worked on the long standing offshore pirate station Radio Caroline? Or that “ShoutOut”‘s Andy Thomas ran the internet’s first regular radio station for gay men, in the late nineties? Terry will look at some of the factors leading to grass roots and community access broadcasting coming to the UK, and then at the experience of making “ShoutOut”, a show that has run since 2010. A little piece of social history, Terry will explain how the slogan of media reform activists, “Don’t Hate the Media, Become the Media” can empower LGBTQ+ communities to make their voices heard.

Presenting Sandra Stancliffe

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Jan 062016
 

SandraStancliffe-smallContinuing our series of posts introducing the many speakers who will be giving talks during the LGBT History Festival at M Shed next February.

Sandra Stancliffe will be presenting Pride of Place: ‘Gay Buildings’ and England’s LGBTQ Heritage, as part of the National History Day on Saturday, February 20th.

Sandra has worked in the area of public engagement and heritage for 23 years. She has worked at museums in Derby and Carlisle and was at Bristol Museums Galleries and Archives for 12 years. She was then employed by English Heritage as Education Director and Head of Education and Interpretation. Since April 2015 she has worked for Historic England where her role as Head of Education and Inclusion includes overall responsibility for the Pride of Place project. She speaks regularly on the theme of increasing participation in heritage through learning and engagement programmes and is constantly striving to ensure the organisations she works far are inclusive in their approach. She is particularly interested in the role of heritage in shaping sense of place and identity.

Sandra has lived in Knowle for 15 years. She is also a trustee of the Bristol Architecture centre and a Governor at Victoria Park Primary School.

Presenting Bisi Alimi

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Jan 042016
 

BisiCancelled – Sadly Bisi is no longer available as he has to travel to Africa.

Continuing our series of posts introducing the many speakers who will be giving talks during the LGBT History Festival at M Shed next February, we are delighted to announce one of the celebrities from this year’s Independent Pink List. Bisi Alimi will be presenting The impact of Religion on Sexuality and Gender in Black British Community as part of the National History Day on Saturday, February 20th.

Bisi Alimi is a CONTROVERSIAL, PASSIONATE, ENGAGING and POWERFUL internationally renowned researcher, public speaker, policy analyst, television pundit, campaigner and community builder with expertise in sexual health and human and LGBT rights.

Bisi’s expertise on Social Justice ranges from Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity to Race and Race Relations, Feminism, Education and Poverty Alleviation

He lectures at Humboldt University Berlin, on Pre and Post Colonial Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in Africa

Alimi was the first Nigerian to openly declare his sexuality on national television in 2004 and this led to threats to his life and his resulting move to the United Kingdom where he was a refugee until December 2014 when he was granted British citizenship.

Presenting Freedom Youth

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Dec 182015
 

Freedom-smallContinuing our series of posts introducing the many speakers who will be giving talks during the LGBT History Festival at M Shed next February.

Rosa Fanti & Lori Streich will be telling us all about the 20 year history of Freedom Youth, as part of the Local History Day on Sunday, February 21st.

Rosa Fanti is a member of Freedom Youth Bristol. When she realised that the group would be 20 in 2015, she had the idea of capturing its history through this project. Rosa’s interests include LGBT history and the social contexts in which it develops and changes.

Lori Streich is managing the project on behalf of Off the Record Bristol, and guiding and supporting the Freedom Youth researchers. Lori has a background in project development and management and a passion for enabling heritage projects that tell untold (and often difficult to find) stories about histories that are too often overlooked or left out of the mainstream. She has compiled an oral history of Westmoreland House in Stokes Croft, and was a Trustee and Chair of Arnos Vale Cemetery Trust in Bristol.

Presenting GayWest

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Dec 162015
 

GayWestContinuing our series of posts introducing the many speakers who will be giving talks during the LGBT History Festival at M Shed next February.

Colin O’Brien and James Whatmore will be telling us all about GayWest, as part of the Local History Day on Sunday, February 21st. For those who don’t know. GayWest is an LGBT Group based on Bath. Colin and James have done this flier for us which explains a little of what they will be talking about.

Presenting Julia Beasley

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Dec 142015
 

juliabeasley-smallContinuing our series of posts introducing the many speakers who will be giving talks during the LGBT History Festival at M Shed next February.

What’s Law got to do with it?

Discrimination expert Julia Beasley will be speaking on the History of LGBT Rights in the Workplace as part of the National History Day on Saturday, February 20th. In particular, she will look at how LGBT rights at work have changed over time and the current legal protections against discrimination at work.

Julia heads up the Employment Team at local law firm QualitySolicitors Burroughs Day. She is an acknowledged expert in complex discrimination and whistleblowing in the workplace and has a lot of experience in advising LGBT clients.

A strong advocate for the employment rights of the individual, Julia has built strong relationships with local organisations including Action on Disability at Work UK, Age UK and the Bristol & Avon Law Centre. As a Partner and practising lawyer, she is recommended by the Legal 500 and Chambers legal directories.

Presenting Jonathan Rowe

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Dec 112015
 

JonathanRowe-smallContinuing our series of posts introducing the many speakers who will be giving talks during the LGBT History Festival at M Shed next February.

Jonathan will be presenting Mary Renault and The Charioteer, as part of the Local History Day on Sunday, February 21st.

Born in Bristol in 1958 Jonathan has lived in the Brislington area all his life.

He helped to form Brislington Conservation and History Society in 1984 and has been Chairman since 2005. He has written many leaflets, articles and books of Brislington local history as well as producing two DVDs. He has also been Secretary of his local drama group, St Luke’s Church Players since it began in 1988, and has written fifteen plays for the group. He researched Mary Renault’s Bristol connections, after reading The Charioteer, set in the fictional, “Bridstow”, and regarded as a landmark work of post war gay themed literature.