A website recording and celebrating a key period of Brixton’s history is seeking donations to keep it going.
Ian Townson, creator of “Revolting Gays”, a history of the LGBT+ squatter community in South London in the 1970s, and of the Queer Walking Tour of Brixton, says the purpose of the website and walking tour is to remind people of past struggles for gay liberation and to raise questions about whether they have any relevance for today’s fight for gay and trans liberation.
“Over a period of roughly 30 years I collected material about the LGBT+ squatter community in Brixton from the early 1970s to the start of the 1980s,” he says.
“Originally, I meant to produce a book, but given the huge volume of photographs, flyers, leaflets, broadhseets and other ephemera, it would have been prohibitively expensive to produce, or I would have had to considerably reduce the contents.
“As a one-time member of the community, I wanted to maximise coverage of that historical period to prevent the loss of a fascinating experiment in queer living and activism from being buried forever in the past.
“It became clear that a website would be more fitting to accommodate all the material hence my creation of the Revolting Gays website.
In March 1974 LGBT+ activists squatted an empty shop at 78 Railton Road to create the South London Gay Community Centre.
“This was the first of its kind in Britain and acted as a magnet to bring mostly gay men into the area with the subsequent development of about eight or nine squatted houses, back to back, on Railton and Mayall Roads with a shared garden in between,” says Ian.
“All of this created a space for the proliferation of activism and creativity, including campaigns, theatre work and experiments in alternative living.”
Ian has delivered a considerable number of talks and presentations about his website to institutions including universities, queer social centres and community groups.
“Maintaining the website does not come without a cost and that is why I am seeking donations to help with its upkeep,” he says.
“By donating via crowdfunder, you are helping the website to remain accessible and not behind a paywall.
“Any donations made will help pay for maintenance costs including the domain and Squarespace subscription.”
To give the website global reach, Ian plans to establish a Wikipedia page which, he says, will incur considerable extra costs.
Contribute at https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/revolting-gays-2
