Gay Black Group: Fotten history of a queer 80s landmark

Contents:

• REMEMBERG A FOTTEN LANDMARK GAY, BLACK, BRISH HISTORY – AND THE LSONS N TEACH
• 'THE UK'S BLACK GAY INS ARE WORTHY OF REGNN'
• 10 GREAT BRISH GAY FILMS

REMEMBERG A FOTTEN LANDMARK GAY, BLACK, BRISH HISTORY – AND THE LSONS N TEACH

We lnched the digal archive Black and Gay, Back the Day on Instagram at the start of LGBTQ History Month on 1 Febary. This giv our archive the feel of a fay photo album, wh imag that evoke memori, nnect old lovers and te younger Black queers about the spac that have existed the are two Black gay men: Jason is 24 and Marc is 51, so there is a generatnal age gap between . We met 1990 at Nwangi, a Black gay club night at the Market Tavern pub Vxhall south London, which has sce been molished to make way for the new US embassy buildg.

I love this picture as ’s a rare image of Black gay love and timacy – ’s radil simply bee puts Black gay love ont and and Caz, late 1980s. Photograph: Col GrantCol and Caz, late 1980sMarc: This photograph is of siblgs Col and Caz at the Lbian and Gay Centre on Cowcross Street, London, the late 80s.

It also acts as a remr of a very important place LGBTQ history, and emphasis the need for spac that are separate om the mercial gay scene. The Lbian and Gay Centre opened 1986 and prid self on meetg the diverse needs of the muny, creatg specific spac for women and Black and Wston Brixton, 1992. Photograph: Calv DawksDJ Biggy C wh the hoe mic vol tr Jomanda at the Vox, 1993Marc: For many years, Black LGBTQ clubs were predomantly n by whe gay men.

'THE UK'S BLACK GAY INS ARE WORTHY OF REGNN'

No night was plete whout an appearance by the Glamour Crew – a tight-kn group of fabuloly drsed young Black gay men who drew fluenc om the Harlem ballroom scene.

He would have been his early 20s this photograph, around the age that I am now, and shows his early reer as a journalist for gay media. We have had lots of discsns about beg London-based Black gay journalists at different tim, and the kd of ternal battl he has won to secure verage of certa stori ensure that gay media is clive and tackl employment discrimatn.

There aren’t many Black gay journalists even now – although my iends Otamere Guobadia, Josh Lee and Ben Hunte are great exampl – so ’s spirg to see him on the ontle all those years McAlmont before Pri, 1992. Soho has now bee synonymo wh the “whewashed” ontier of gay nightlife and is often mistakenly perceived as a playground for a predomantly whe LGBTQ crowd, so ’s wonrful to know that there was a Black queer women’s night held at the heart of .

10 GREAT BRISH GAY FILMS

I have heard warm stori about Patrick Liverpool, who died 2001: about his grand outfs and his nt parti, his home Brixton beg full of Black gay men om all rners of London. But what has stuck wh me is his duty of re towards the Black gay men he met – often strangers whom he took to provi shelter, food and safety. I fd how he fashned himself as an isolated Black gay man a small northern town spirg bee, his words, he beme the very image that he need to see.

It’s a punk athetic that I thk also provis some diversy to the archive terms of the youth subcultur Black gay men have belonged to.

Wh the help of the lovely folks at Gay's The World, one of England's only LGBT+ bookshops, and New Beans Books, a Black bookshop based north London, I have piled a list of Black Brish LGBTQ hero who we n't fet this McKay, Wrer Born 1889 Jamai, Cl McKay was a key figure the Harlem Renaissance lerary movement and wrote Home To Harlem 1928. Some claim he was the first black journalist Fashanu — Footballer Getty Imag/Getty Imag Sport/Getty ImagJt Fashanu was the first openly gay Black football player Bra. Racism and homophobia is still prevalent the sport today wh Pk News cg that 273 reported racist cints and 111 reports of homophobic abe occurred 2017 and 2018, so beg out and Black the '80s was urageo.