Meeting and Greeting with Rachel
Hi I’m Rachel, one of Birmingham LGBT’s newest volunteers. I joined the Birmingham LGBT volunteering team in February 2022 as part of my Civic Engagement placement for my nursing studies. I’m currently in my second year of my nursing degree, at University of Birmingham. Our Civic Engagement placement is where we source our own […]
A Visual Legacy of Volunteering
Sian Finn, Volunteering & Peer Mentoring Co-ordinator To celebrate Volunteers’ Week this month, and the incredible impact our volunteers have made within and across our services and communities, we are currently in the process of creating a visual legacy which has been made possible with Birmingham Pride Community Trust funding. We have artist Sophie Handy […]
Guest blog: Bards and Books – the LGBTQ+ book group
Bards and Books a very friendly and sociable LGBTQ+ book group which meets on the first Monday of each month (apart from when this falls on a Bank Holiday in which case it moves to the second Monday). We meet from 11am to 1pm in a venue centrally located in Birmingham. There is the option […]
In Memory of Lyra McKee – LGBT History Month 2022
The tragic death of Lyra McKee – a distinguished young journalist and avid LGBT rights campaigner – caused shock, grief and anguish across communities in Northern Ireland and beyond in 2019. Tragic, in that her fight for equal rights for all saw her shot during violent reactions to police raids in a residential area of […]
Angela Davis on changing the things you cannot accept – LGBT History Month 2022
I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept. From the segregated southern states to the height of academia, via inclusion on the “FBI Most Wanted” list, Angela Davis has lived an extraordinary life. Angela is a political activist, academic, author and civil rights champion, campaigning […]
Gus Van Sant and My Own Private Idaho – LGBT History Month 2022
In the run up to summer of 1992 whilst taking a break from A Level English revision, I went with a friend to see a then relatively unknown film called My Own Private Idaho. I had been expecting some light relief after many hours spent learning quotes from Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part One, but was […]
Audre Lorde and being the outsider – LGBT History Month 2022
Audre Lorde was born in New York in 1934 to Caribbean immigrant parents. She learned to read and write at the age of four and wrote her first poem in the eighth grade, and at fifteen her first poem was published in Seventeen magazine. She graduated from Hunter College in 1959 and completed her Master’s […]
Olly Alexander and It’s a Sin – LGBT History Month 2022
The work Olly Alexander has done raising awareness about mental health was the first thing which inspired me, especially as he’s a younger person like me. He’s relatable, open and willing to discuss things which people often avoid. I was really lucky when I was younger – I only had a bit of bullying – […]
Elizabeth Taylor, the “Joan of Arc of AIDS” – LGBT History Month 2022
Liz Taylor and her lifestyle are not particularly aligned to my personal values and moral code. I’m not seduced by men, diamonds or money. I’m not impressed by synthetic opulence or social climbing, and I have no desire for fame or fortune. So why am I writing my piece for LGBT History month on Elizabeth […]
Marking and Honouring the Achievements of David Stuart (1967-2022) – LGBT History Month 2022
Like so many others, I was saddened to hear of the sudden death of David Stuart, a person whose career, passion and continued contribution to the LGBT community I admire. I met David a couple of years ago, when I got to feel his deep-rooted love and energy for community work. His deep knowledge and […]