LGBT History Month 2019
Our borough has a long, proud history on LGBT+ rights, and as a council we’re currently putting together proposals to further Haringey’s commitment to being an LGBT+ inclusive borough.
Throughout February we will highlight LGBT History Month on our culture pages, with interviews from community groups, schools and residents who are making a difference in our borough.
Haringey has the eighth highest LGBT+ community in London, but hate crime remains an issue, and we will be hearing from Haringey Police about the work they are doing to tackle it and help promote equality in the borough.
This year's national LGBT History Month theme is Peace, Activism and Reconciliation.
Find out more on the LGBT History Month website (external link).
Timeline
Here, we look at how figures from Haringey joined the battle against Section 28 - which until 2003 banned local authorities from sharing materials that “promoted homosexuality” in schools - and explore other LGBT+ moments in our borough’s history:
1967
Homosexuality was decriminalised in the UK.
1984
Gay rights became part of the Labour Party’s manifesto. At the time, Haringey was one of 10 councils who pitched in to donate more than £600,000 to gay projects and groups.
1986
LGBT campaigning stepped up this year. A group called Positive Images organised a demo around the Roundway in Tottenham. 3,000 people marched in support of Haringey’s gay and lesbian community.
Labour then won control of Haringey Council, with lesbian and gay equality part of the manifesto. The council’s Lesbian and Gay Unit was launched - the first of its kind in the country - to highlight the rights of LGBT people to council staff. Pioneering campaigner Femi Otitoju was part of the unit, which is now part of our equalities team.
A book called Jenny lives with Eric and Martin, which told the story of a girl living with her dad and his partner, was available to school children in Haringey. A group of local parents complained - sparking protests on the streets of Wood Green, for and against gay rights.
Watch a news report on the gay rights protest in Haringey:
Note for iPhone users and Youtube. There is a known bug with iOS and Youtube, Two buttons are read before the player but provide no functionality. We advise that you skip these to access the content.
1987
Positive Images and Haringey Black Action organised the first UK demonstration to highlight the stories of black lesbians and gay men.
Bernie Grant, then-MP for Tottenham, became the first MP to voice opposition to Section 28, which was brought in a year later in 1988.
The Department of Education and Science expressed concerns to Haringey Council’s education team about the “promotion of homosexuality”. It came after our Lesbian and Gay Unit wrote to the borough’s head teachers, urging them to share positive views of homosexuality with pupils.
1988
On 23 May, the night before Section 28 became law, four protestors, including Haringey’s Booan Temple stormed the BBC 6 O’Clock news, handcuffed themselves to equipment and shouted ‘Stop section 28’.
Watch the news report on YouTube:
Note for iPhone users and Youtube. There is a known bug with iOS and Youtube, Two buttons are read before the player but provide no functionality. We advise that you skip these to access the content.
1999
Wood Green arts charity Wise Thoughts was established, helping to address social justice issues and the needs of Haringey’s LGBT and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities.
2001
Equalisation of the age of consent for gay men nationwide.
2002
UK’s Adoption and Children Act allowed same sex couples to adopt.
Then-MP for Hornsey and Wood Green Barbara Roche, who was Minister for Social Exclusion and Equalities, spoke in support of civil partnerships, saying there was a strong case for allowing same-sex couples to register their relationships.
2003
Section 28 was repealed.
2009
The T-shirt Haringey protester Booan Temple wore when she stormed the BBC went on show at Bruce Castle Museum, as part of the From the Closet to the Collection: Haringey LGBT Exhibition.
2010
GIRES (Gender Identification Research and Education Society) was set up to improve the environment in which gender non-conforming people live.
2012
Then-MP for Hornsey and Wood Green Lynne Featherstone was named Attitude Magazine’s politician of the year. She went on to be named Pink Magazine’s ally of the year in 2014, as well as Stonewall’s 2014 politician of the year (following a previous 2009 nomination). The former Equalities Minister is widely hailed as the architect of the bill that brought same-sex marriage to England and Wales.
2014
The first gay couple to marry in Haringey were Subodh Rathod and Niranjan Kamatkar. The couple are also the first gay Indian couple to marry in the UK under new marriage equality legislation.
Creative grooms Benjamin Till and Nathan Taylor wrote and staged their entire wedding as a musical - including sung vows, sung readings and show-stopping ensembles from the congregation. Our Gay Wedding: The Musical was staged at the Alexandra Palace Theatre and shown on Channel 4.
Haringey heralds the dawn of equal marriage.
2017
Haringey begins work to make the council a more LGBT+ friendly place, with support from Stonewall.
2018
January - The LGBTQ+ Community Network is formed, consisting of 15 organisations from across the borough working with and championing the needs of the LGBT+ population.
February - Cabinet reinstates its commitment to the LGBT+ population with a new action plan.
June - The Haringey Vanguard, an archiving project focussed on the histories of black, Asian and minority ethnic LGBTQ+ communities in the borough, is formed.
July - Leader of Haringey Council, Cllr Joseph Ejiofor signs the Stonewall ‘Come Out for LGBT’ pledge, vowing to continue to battle for LGBT+ equality. 
Haringey Council staff attend the Pride in London parade during LGBT Pride Month wearing specially designed HarinGAY t-shirts. Proud to be Haringey.
September - The Haringey Has Pride project re-enact a famous Pride celebration in Haringey that took place in 1989, protesting against the then government’s Section 28 policy which prevented teaching about LGBT+ identities and sexualities in school.
November - GFEST, the annual LGBTQI+ arts festival led by Wise Thoughts, celebrates its ten year anniversary with the theme ‘Have LGBTQI+ people achieved full equality now?’
Now
The council is preparing measures to further our LGBT+ work in the borough.
