LGBT History Month/Stuart Milk

February is LGBT History Month and there have been all sorts of events taking place all over the world to mark it.

Here in Liverpool our LGBT Mental Health Strategy Group took part in the 'OUTing the Past' event at The Museum of Liverpool today. Thanks to Meryl and Chris for presenting our session, 'Queer in the Head', absolutely brilliantly! The presentation covered the history of psychiatric and social responses to LGBT people over the centuries - and the social movements which resisted, and continue to resist, being pathologised and/or subjected to 'cures'. It was really well received!

The whole event was opened with a speech by today's Blip subject, Stuart Milk. Stuart is an internationally renowned LGBT activist in his own right and he's also the nephew of one of the most famous LGBT activists there has ever been, Harvey Milk.

Stuart was 18 years old when Harvey (the first openly gay politician to be elected to public office in California, where he served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors) was assassinated in 1978. Shot, along with San Francisco Mayor George Moscone, by his colleague, Supervisor Dan White.

If you haven't seen the documentary 'The Times of Harvey Milk' then I absolutely recommend it. Here's the trailer... www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jet-Ubwk5l8

Harvey was also the subject of the Oscar-winning biopic, 'Milk', starring Sean Penn.

It was great to hear Stuart talk about why it's still absolutely vital for all of us - not just LGBT people - to speak up for LGBT rights and also for LGBT people to speak up for the rights of other minority or stigmatised groups. This is particularly important in the USA right now as the President is already removing gains made by Transgender people under the previous administration and is actively discriminating against refugees, Muslims, Mexicans and others. All of which groups, just as a side point, also include LGBT people, of course!

Today's tune is a bit of LGBT history in itself... Ma Rainey's rendition of 'Prove It On Me Blues' recorded back in 1928 www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjRn7_cC8N4