A story of Solidary: Mers and the Gay Communy – HISTORY AT NORTHAMPTON

Contents:

• WHEN MERS AND GAY ACTIVISTS UNED: THE REAL STORY OF THE FILM PRI
• LGBT HISTORY MONTH: LBIANS AND GAYS SUPPORT THE MERS, 1984-85
• PRI: A HEARTBREAKG BRISH COMEDY ABOUT THE TIME GAYS AND MERS WORKED TOGETHER
• LBIAN AND GAY PRI PARA, LONDON, JUNE 1985
• A STORY OF SOLIDARY: MERS AND THE GAY COMMUNY
• PROUD: THE FIRST GAY PRI LONDON
• LONDON LBIAN AND GAY CENTRE REFED GRANT – ARCHIVE, 1985
• LBIANS AND GAYS SUPPORT THE MERS: PRI A LEGACY

WHEN MERS AND GAY ACTIVISTS UNED: THE REAL STORY OF THE FILM PRI

" He acknowledg now that this is a le you n only e once a pch and explas that he went on to tell the story of mers the Dulais valley South Wal durg the 1984-5 strike – the longt Brish history – and a gay and lbian group om London that donated more money (£11, 000 by December 1984) to their e than any other fundraiser the UK, along wh a mib emblazoned wh the logo LGSM: Lbians and Gays Support the a when a gree of homophobia was the norm, LGSM drove a uple of mib om Hackney Communy Transport and a clapped-out VW mper van to a bleak mg town South Wal to prent their donatns, uncerta what sort of wele to expect. Three years later and the film, shot Banwen, Wal, and London, and directed by Tony-wng Matthew Warch (rponsible for Matilda the Mil, and soon to be artistic director of the Old Vic), is might assume a rom about strikg mers and 80s gays was unlikely to be big box-office, but the same was probably said of Billy Ellt.

"In the homema LGSM documentary, we also glimpse a tall, handsome fellow wearg groovy leather troers, shakg a donatns bucket outsi Gay's the Word bookshop London's Marchmont Street – this is Jonathan Blake.

As portrayed the 2014 film Pri, the small Welsh mg village of Onllwyn Neath Port Talbot was the settg for the seemgly unlikely llaboratn between a group of lbian and gay activists om London and strikg Welsh mers and their fai durg the year-long UK strike 1984-85. Followg an ial bucket llectn for strikg mers at the June 1984 Gay Pri march, Lbians and Gays Support the Mers (LGSM) was formed July 1984 after a reprentative om the South Wal Natnal Unn of Meworkers me to speak at a meetg at the Universy of London Stunt Unn. Perhaps more importantly, the Natnal Unn of Meworkers block vote rried a motn to support equal rights for gay men and lbians at the Labour Party nference Bournemouth later that year.

LGBT HISTORY MONTH: LBIANS AND GAYS SUPPORT THE MERS, 1984-85

This right-hand figure this prt is Samuel Drybutter, a bookseller Wtmster Hall, who was a public figure 18th century London, famo for his flamboyant drs and supposed homosexualy.

PRI: A HEARTBREAKG BRISH COMEDY ABOUT THE TIME GAYS AND MERS WORKED TOGETHER

But they began as tensely polil events, challeng to a world where homosexual activi were first Gay Pri march took place London on 1 July 1972, spired by the 1969 Stonewall Rts New York. Wh the slogan 'Lbians and Gay Men Come Out On the Streets', Pri was an opportuny for LGBT Londoners to show their strength and numbers, and show "the posive si of the beg gay: GAY IS FUN; GAY IS PROUD; GAY IS BEAUTIFUL! The badg celebratg Pri and gay activism were created durg the 1970s and 80s, when wearg them on the streets was a powerful and dangero polil statement, sometim met wh abe or vlence.

LBIAN AND GAY PRI PARA, LONDON, JUNE 1985

Unr the legislatn, lol thori were prohibed by law om 'promotg homosexualy by teachg or by publishg material', effectively banng help for LGBT people om schools, librari, and muny groups. The lours reprent: red for life, orange for healg, yellow for sun, green for nature, blue for harmony (or art) and purple for necklace was bought by a gay man at one of the first London Gay Pri march he attend, about 1985.

A STORY OF SOLIDARY: MERS AND THE GAY COMMUNY

They reflect the difficulty of livg a London where beg gay uld e you to be sacked om a job, publilly shamed, or even silver earrg is the shape of a double-head axe lled a labrys. The Francis Goldg llectn clud a first for the mm: the sus that he and his partner, Dr Satish Padiyar, wore their civil partnership ceremony 2006 - both a tone of public acceptance for homosexualy, and a remr that marriage equaly for lbian and gay people was not achieved until the law was changed 2013.

Gay Pri March, subsequently re-brand as Pri March and now Pri Paras (see Pri) have been held London sce the early 1970s, normally on the neart Saturday to 28 June, the anniversary of the Stonewall rts. 1971: There was a small march 1971, anised by the GLF youth Group, startg wh a Gay Day Hy Park and then a march down Oxford Street and Regents Street to Trafalgar Square. Pri, the wonrful new movie about a group of London-based lbian and gay activists who raised money for Welsh mers durg a major 1984-85 strike, is a love letter to solidary, a powerful force that we still talk about si the LGBTQ muny but rarely act upon.

PROUD: THE FIRST GAY PRI LONDON

When Mark Ashton (played wh oodl of sexy charisma by Amerin Ben Schzer) notic that the police are spendg ls time harassg gays, part bee they’re by on the mers’ picket l, he spends the 1984 London gay pri march solicg donatns for the strikers and their fai. In most films, the gays’ arrival the valleys would be the big climax—homophobia would be overe by a movg piece of oratn, and the mers would lk arms wh guys who socialize clubs lled the Mhaft and sg songs as the creds roll.

Y, there is an epic dis scene (the gays love to dance) which Domic Wt more than jtifi his paycheck, and, naturally, there’s a heartrendg sgalong (bee you know the Welsh do love to sg), but then thgs start to get real.

Jt as the Great Atlantic Flt lks the “dark artery” of al that ns om South Wal to Pennsylvania, the mers and gays e to realize that they, too, are nnected, and they’re stronger if they foc on the mon stggle stead of lgerg on their differenc. But the first official UK Gay Pri Rally was held on 1 July 1972, the date chosen for s proximy to the anniversary of the Stonewall rts, wh approximately 200 people attendance.

LONDON LBIAN AND GAY CENTRE REFED GRANT – ARCHIVE, 1985

We will trace the Pri movement through s formative years, where members of the gay and lbian muny faced wispread discrimatn, through to the 1980s and 1990s, when ralli beme better attend and supported. The first ever Gay Pri rally the Uned Kgdom, held on 1 July 1972, garnered ltle if any prs attentn, monstrative of the battle the gay and lbian muny had on their hands for raisg awarens of their stggle for equaly. However, the Gay Liberatn Front (GLF), a gay liberatn group that was found New York 1969 followg the Stonewall rts, wh Bra’s own branch beg tablished a year later, was reported on by the Brish prs 1972.

LBIANS AND GAYS SUPPORT THE MERS: PRI A LEGACY

The article addrsed the stggl faced by gay men at the time, cludg a quote om Peter (not his real name, symptomatic of the prejudic the gay muny faced due to beg out durg that era), who said: ‘All I n say is that I have to be gay. A year later 1973 we found the first mentn of Gay Pri our newspapers, om the Hammersmh & Shepherds Bh Gazette, 5 July 1973, which scribed the ‘programme of events’ for Gay Pri Week:. Meanwhile, the Kent & Ssex Courier reported on 13 Augt 1976 how 2, 000 members of the gay muny took part the march, notg how six members of the Tunbridge Wells CHE group were attendance.

By 1979, the 10th anniversary of the Stonewall rts, the Pri movement had spread across the untry, wh the Hammersmh & Shepherds Bh Gazette reportg June of that year how gay and lbian anisatns ‘all around the untry are tryg to crease public awarens of their e’ durg Pri week. Police acpany a rnival makg s way through London yterday at the end of Internatnal Gay Pri Week, an event markg the tenth anniversary of the Stonewall rts New York which rulted the birth of the Gay Liberatn movement. For example, on 21 June 1980 the Aberen Eveng Exprs reported on the activi of the Aberen Gay Pri Week Commtee, who for the send year a row had been ‘by anisg events for Gay Pri Week.

Meanwhile, Pri ma natnal prs that year when the Sunday Mirror reported how ‘hundreds’ of the gay muny had ‘marched on Bow Street police statn London yterday, mandg the release of people held earlier a Gay Pri Week para. This was pecially powerful as nsentg sexual relatnships between gay men were still illegal Northern Ireland at this time, wh Shepherd addrsg how such relatnships were viewed as ‘both ss and crim. However, Shepherd explas the premise of ‘Comg Out, ’ which followed five young gay men and their stori of ‘g out’ to ‘fay, iends and employers, people who might be unprehendg, vulnerable or even vdictive.