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The Personal is Political: a history of queer activism in Nottingham
By CJ DeBarra
Wednesday 23 October
FABRIC
6-7pm
As a rebel city, Nottingham has always had a strong history of activism. This includes incredible queer activism throughout the decades. From The Campaign for Homosexual Equality (CHE) and the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) in the 1960s to AIDS activism of the 1980s to gay marriage protests in the 2010s, Nottingham’s activists have often been at the forefront of change – so why don’t we hear more about it?
This talk will cover major queer movements, protests to be proud of, our first gay pride and how this has impacted the queer Nottingham of today.
Photo by Chris Richardson
CJ DeBarra is an Irish journalist from Clonakilty in West Cork. They are a queer, non-binary, Disabled person who was diagnosed as ADHD as a child. They have been a journalist for fifteen years focusing on local news, history, sex and disability. Their first book, Neuroqueer was published in 2023. CJ founded the Notts Queer History Archive in 2022 which has created an oral history collection to be housed in London and Nottingham. They are releasing two books covering the history from 1960-2020 in February 2025 through Five Leaves Publishing.