A permanent plaque for York’s LGBT History? Call for ideas

Following LGBT History Month 2017 and the third Rainbow Plaques event, York LGBT History Month, York’s Alternative History, York LGBT Forum and York Civic Trust  are working together to identify Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans histories that can be commemorated with a York Civic Trust permanent plaque.

We are starting this with an open call for ideas. Everyone is welcome to contribute. You can make a suggestion via this websurvey.

Plaques can commemorate people, places, organizations or events. The criteria are:

·      If it is a person, that they are dead and have been influential.

·      If it is a place, organization or event, that it was significant.

However, these criteria are flexible. We’re expecting lots of different types of arguments for why someone might have been influential or why a place, organization or event was significant.

For inspiration:

York Civic Trust plaques

York’s DIY Rainbow Plaques

LGBT linked plaques in London

This is how the process will work. We’d like to invite you to get involved: to generate lots of ideas, to debate and discuss the process, to make a final decision and to get the first plaque up.

June   Open call for ideas
August     Event where the ideas are discussed and a list is prepared for final vote
August                 Vote to determine an order of priorities
September                 Announce the priority list and begin working on first LBGT plaque.

The first plaque will be supported by the York Civic Trust City Enhancement Fund.

Marriage and Freedom: Exploring African British History through connections to York

Saturday, June 17 at 7:30 PM – 10 PM
Clements Hall, Nunthorpe Road, York YO23 1BW

Arts and Cultural Heritage Association York and York’s Alternative History, with Heritage Corner, are proud to present MARRIAGE & FREEDOM, a unique programme consisting of two dramatic presentations with extremely rich narratives.

Heritage Corner from Leeds explores the significance of African British history towards the understanding of heritage and diversity in Britain today. Two celebrated couples in African British history are presented. Their stories could not be more different from each other. Both couples are factually documented as visiting York but the main connection is the year 1848, as both tragedy and hope unfold before our eyes.

The first play entitled ‘Oh, Susannah’, features Norwich-born William Darby, AKA Baplo, who is of African descent in a mixed heritage marriage with Susannah, a Brummy. Their joint adventure of Pablo Fanque’s Circus was created in 1840’s Yorkshire and contributes to the golden age of circus in Britain as one of the most popular and well-celebrated circuses of its day.

The second play entitled ‘Meets the Crafts’, we see Ellen and William Craft preparing their daring escape from slavery in America, as told in their best seller ‘A Thousand Miles to Freedom’. Ellen is of mixed heritage, but nearly white, her celebrity status is sealed when in becomes widely known that she dressed in male clothing to escape. William’s talks in Yorkshire are well attended and their cause well supported.

A unique double bill of dual heritage narratives in Victorian Yorkshire.

There will be opportunities for questions, discussion, networking and having a generally great evening out.

Seriously not to be missed!

Bar, music and food provided

Places are free but booking is essential

RSVP

For booking and further information contact the following: joseph.a.richards@gmail.com // 07729474221

Last Saturday we celebrated our second York Rainbow Plaques day as part of LGBT History Month.

The gallery of our plaques

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A post shared by York LGBT History (@yorklgbthistory)

York’s LGBT History: make your own rainbow plaque, 20th February

As part of York’s LBGT History Month, York’s Alternative History are hosting (for the second year)…

York’s LGBT History: make your own rainbow plaque
20th February, 1pm-5pm

There are over seventy blue plaques around York commemorating famous people or events.
To celebrate York LGBT History Month 2016, we invite you to create your own rainbow plaques to mark places of personal and political significance to LGBT history. Drop into Explore York between 1pm and 3pm to make your removable cardboard plaque. After 3pm, we’ll distribute them around the city. If you arrive after that time, we’ll leave contact details with Explore so you can find out how to join us en route.

Venue: Marriott Room, Explore York Libraries & Archives, Library Square, Museum Street, York YO1 7DS
Accessibility: Baby changing, Wheelchair access

Tickets: None required

Photos from last year’s event:

Reflections on Rainbow Plaques Day

Guppys with its celebratory Rainbow Plaque

Kit Heyam’s blog post on LGBT History Month has appeared on Notches:(re)marks on the History of sexuality).

Kit says: ‘The appearance of the plaques was important: our design mirrored the iconic blue roundel, with all its legitimating potential, but also visibly signalled the stories’ queerness.’

You can follow our route and the plaques made and ceremoniously stuck up on historypin.

Then and Now image of Little Black Street, removed to create Duncombe Place and a clear view of the Minister. Image created by Richard and Lianne Brigham, York Past and Present.

What has heritage ever done for us? (…and what would we like heritage to do for York?):
Community visions for the future of York’s heritage

20th June 2015
1.30 – 4.30pm
Friargate Meeting House

Book free tickets.

We invite anyone interested in York’s future to join us to explore what ‘heritage’ might have to do with it.

York is a city known for its heritage.
York also faces certain challenges: for example housing, wages and making the city centre an affordable and easy place to spend time during the day and at night.

How can we think about York’s heritage in ways which help us address these challenges?
How might York’s heritage become a resource that helps us live well together?

We’ll hear from lots of different people about their visions for the future of York’s heritage.

We’ll also work together to make plans. What do you know about York’s history – or the challenges the city faces today – and how can you contribute?

Part of the ‘How should decisions about heritage be made?’ project and the Arts and Humanities Research Council’s Connected Communities Festival.

Historypin | yorkalternativehistory

Here is link to the Historypin tour of the Rainbow Plaques event we held in February… a blog reflecting on the event and it’s various ripples to follow.

Historypin | yorkalternativehistory.

York’s LGBT History: Write your own rainbow plaque

Lots of events throughout February. See: http://yorklgbthistory.org.uk/

28th February
1-4pm
Meet at 1pm at Friends Meeting House

In York there are over seventy blue plaques around York commemorating famous people or events.

To celebrate York LGBT History Month 2015, we invite you to create your own rainbow plaque telling the LGBT history of our city. Together we’ll mark places of personal significance and political importance, highlighting the diverse stories that run through York’s streets. We’ll then distribute (the safe and easily removable) cardboard plaques around the city, recording the stories and photographing them for an archive of the day.

There are two options for sharing your histories, stories and memories:
1) Send us your plaque entries in advance and we’ll get them printed out on our cardboard rainbow plaques to be ceremoniously unveiled on the day. Deadline for this is 22nd February 2014. Send ideas to yorkalternativehistory@gmail.com

2) Drop in during the afternoon to customize one of the rainbow plaques.

The event is funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council’s ‘Connected Communities’ programme via a research project ‘How should decisions about heritage be made?’

Organised by: York’s Alternative History and the York:Living With History project

Find out what York: A Walk on the Wild Side is really about

Free PDF of York: A Walk on the Wild Side

The front cover of Paul Furness’ new pamphlet

Following a wide range of press coverage this week in York Press and BBC Radio York – and some misunderstandings of the aims and content of Paul’s York: A Walk on the Wild Side book – we’ve decided the best thing is to make available freely the PDF. So if you’re interested in finding out what Paul’s really saying, then read away!

Some of the debate has been fair enough. Paul’s argument is that York’s official representations haven’t always celebrated and brought to life the richer and less marketable histories. And we’re not scared of the debate, after all the point of York’s Alternative History has always been to do cultural politics; to tell lots of different stories about the city’s past so that the future can be ours for the making. It’s been great to see that Paul’s work has done that job so well.

Beautifully designed and printed hard copies also still available. Either pay via cheque or pay pal.

By PayPal: Add you address via PayPal to be posted the book. We can only sell the book for £5 each over the website (not for the multiple copies deal below).

By Post: Price £5 incl. p. and p. for single copies; £9 for 2; £12 for 3. Please send cheques, payable to ‘York Workshops’ (WOWS), to York Workshops, 8 Galtres Grove, York, YO30 8RG

York: A Walk on the Wild Side – buy your copy now

The front cover of Paul Furness’ new pamphlet

York’s Alternative History are very proud to launch Paul Furness’ York: A Walk on the Wild Side based on walks Paul has run over the past couple of years. For a taster see this Guardian Northern blog.

In the author’s words:

Even Guy Fawkes has to shout to get himself heard in York and, to add insult to injury, he’s not in this little book either – which makes the point that what is left out of York’s rich history may be more relevant than what gets included in the “official version” that brands this tourist town a must visit experience. Within these pages you’ll find the story of the York “they” don’t want to tell you about – because it doesn’t fit the heritage image which has been invented for the express purpose of shopping! What you are about to read is none of that. Here are tales of riot, rebellion and revolution, music, poets, football and beer along with fights for women’s rights and Gay Liberation – just the story of another Friday night in York in fact!

Price £5 incl. p. and p. for single copies; £9 for 2; £12 for 3. Please send cheques, payable to ‘York Workshops’ (WOWS), to York Workshops, 8 Galtres Grove, York, YO30 8RG

York: Walk On The Wild Side is supported by York’s Alternative History and the University of Leeds and is supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, through a research project ‘How should decisions about heritage be made?’ / York: Living with History project.