A number of activities and events will take place across the borough as the Haringey community joined together at George Meehan House in Wood Green today to officially launch LGBT+ History Month.
The month was officially launched here in our borough this lunchtime by the Mayor of Haringey, Cllr Lester Buxton, Deputy Mayor Cllr Ajda Ovat and the Leader of Haringey Council, Cllr Peray Ahmet, who raised the Progress Pride flag at the N22 landmark.
The theme for this year’s LGBT+ History Month is Medicine, with Haringey residents and those living beyond our borough being invited to consider the progress made – and being made for the future – in LGBTQ+ diversity across healthcare, medicine and science.
Taking place in February each year, LGBT+ History Month provides an opportunity for us all to celebrate and learn about the heritage and history of our LGBTQ+ communities and today’s flag raising ceremony marks the start of a month-long programme of FREE activities and events in Haringey.
There are many standout highlights across a memorable month ahead, including:
- A ‘Hidden Pride of Haringey: 400 years of LGBTQ+ Heritage in Tottenham’ walking tour at Bruce Castle Museum and Archive on Saturday 3 February at 10:30am
- Film screenings at Hornsey Library, including Benediction (2021, 12+) on Monday 5 February 2024 at 10:30am and 2:30pm
- A ‘Self-Love and Healing’ Card-Making and Poetry session at Chestnuts Community Centre on Tuesday 6 February 2024 between 12noon and 2pm
- A ‘Don’t Say Gay – Why Section 28 Matters Today’ panel discussion at Bruce Castle Museum and Archive on Thursday 15 February at 7pm
- Book Club events* (*for adults) at Coombes Croft Library (‘The Ministry of Utmost Happiness’ by Arundhati Roy, Saturday 17 February 2024, 4pm – 5pm) and St Ann’s Library (‘Swimming in the Dark’ by Tomasz Jedrowski, Thursday 22 February 2024, 6pm – 7pm)
- A ‘Pamper & Portraits’ event* (*for our 50+ residents) at Latimer House on Wednesday 28 February 2024, 12noon – 4pm
Haringey Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture, Communities and Leisure, Cllr Emily Arkell, said: “LGBT+ History Month represents an opportunity for all of us to learn about and celebrate the history and heritage of our LGBTQ+ communities.
“We’re rightly very proud of our long-standing and strong history of LGBTQ+ activism and life here in Haringey. This year’s LGBT+ History Month is particularly special one as we mark the 10th anniversary of the first same-sex marriages which took place in the borough, but our work standing up for LGBTQ+ rights goes back much further – such as our campaign against Section 28 in the 1980s and the Smash the Backlash rallies.
“LGBTQ+ rights are a cause we will continue to champion. It’s fundamentally important we do so too as the quest for meaningful and tangible equality goes on. History is written as much today as it was yesterday and the onus is on us all to ensure that – when future Haringey residents look back upon what we’re doing right now to make everyone feel safe and welcome in our borough – they do so with an immense sense of pride.”
The Mayor of Haringey, Cllr Lester Buxton, said: “I’m looking forward to the fantastic events that are being put on in Haringey during this year’s LGBT History Month.
“While I may be proud that I am Haringey’s youngest-ever Mayor, I’m thankful that I am not its first out gay Mayor.
“Growing up in Hornsey and Crouch End, while I may have taken time to process who I was, I never felt afraid to express myself. I even did a show in drag when I was 16!
“This is testament to the hard work that was done by the people of Haringey years before I was even born. I’m proud of our continuing record of fighting for LGBTQ+ rights.”
Follow this link to explore our LGBT+ History Month programme:
https://www.haringey.gov.uk/libraries-sport-and-leisure/culture/lgbtqplus365/events
