TURN BACK THE PAGES:

Gscene has been published every month for over 27 years, and is a rich chronicle of the history of our LGBTQ+ communities, in and around Brighton & Hove. Chris Gull raids the archives…

AUGUST 2010...

Five months into the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition government, and two years from the global financial meltdown (aka the banking crisis), James Ledward had some news. Regular readers of our look back to 2010 will know that Pride that year was... contentious.

Funding Cuts

“Pride has not been the only negative cloud on the LGBTQ+ horizon in Brighton & Hove these last few months. The full impact of government cuts on statutory bodies who fund our local LGBTQ+ organisations is starting to filter through and the long-term future of these organisations could be in question. “We’ve spent years building a support network of LGBTQ+ organisations providing frontline services to young, old, and sick LGBTQ+ people. These organisations are seen nationally as champions in their respective fields, but none of them are safe from the cuts that are now starting to happen. “Allsorts Youth Project, MindOut, Spectrum, the LGBT Community Forum and Brighton & Hove LGBT Switchboard are all ‘LGBTQ+ specific’ organisations that depend heavily on grant funding from Brighton & Hove City Council and the Department of Health through the present Primary Care Trusts (PCTs). “The decision of the Tory/Lib Dem coalition Government to scrap the PCTs (even though there was nothing about this in either of their manifestos), devolving much of their commissioning power through to local GPs, has the potential to marginalise services for those most in need, especially in the LGBTQ+ community, and puts in danger organisations that rely on ‘health funding’ to survive. Everyone will be in the same boat, not just LGBTQ+ organisations. We fought hard to create these services and we must fight hard to ensure they survive in the short term while national government attempts to bring the economy back on track.“

The Rainbow Fund

“For many years I’ve thought it was important that we centralise our community fundraising in case of such a funding crisis happening. For most of the last year I’ve supported the development of the Rainbow Fund. This is a completely independent fund, managed by the Sussex Community Foundation, an experienced grant giver in Sussex, to make funds available to LGBTQ+ specific and HIV organisations who provide frontline services to LGBTQ+ people. The Rainbow Fund at Sussex Community Foundation is a charitable fund for the benefit of the LGBTQ+ community in Brighton & Hove and maintains the Brighton & Hove Aids Memorial.

“After successfully signing off the fundraising for the Aids Memorial, the Sussex Community Foundation kindly agreed to convert the Aids Memorial Fund into a more general fund to enable the Community to raise money for our LGBTQ+ Voluntary Sector and HIV/Aids organisations, especially those who struggle to

get grants from statutory funders at present. The fund is administered by the Sussex Community Foundation. In the next few weeks a panel of LGBTQ+ people will be announced to oversee the grant giving process. “Just five years ago fundraising from our LGBTQ+ businesses in Brighton & Hove in a single year for local LGBTQ+ and HIV organisations topped £100,000. Last year I found it difficult to track £15,000 raised by the local LGBTQ+ business community for our LGBTQ+ and HIV voluntary sector. Many businesses are still fundraising, but for anything other than LGBTQ+ and HIV organisations. Privately, businesses are saying to me that they’re happy to fundraise but want to know that the money they raise is safe and not going on overheads. “The one thing I can guarantee all local businesses is that the Sussex Community Foundation is a reputable charity with an established record of grant giving. The Rainbow Fund will have an independent grant giving panel of LGBTQ+ people who will set the criteria for the grants and also recommend what grants are given. Members of the grants panel will consist of local professional LGBTQ+ people equipped with wide ranging skills and experience in the LGBTQ+ and HIV voluntary sector.

“The Rainbow Fund is entirely independent of any LGBTQ+ business or voluntary sector interest and grant applications will be decided solely on the basis of merit and meeting the grants criteria, which is set by the independent grants committee. Most importantly, the Rainbow Fund has no overheads or wages, just paying the Sussex Community Foundation a small commission for their help. “Now there is around £20,000 in the fund and the first grants round will be in October this year. To secure the future of our LGBTQ+ organisations this fund needs to grow quickly.“

2020 UPDATE

So The Brighton Rainbow Fund is ten years old. James’ vision has borne fruit. Thanks not only to local businesses and individual donors, but also to community fundraising events such as Pride, Bear Patrol, and Brighton Bear Weekend. The amounts raised have increased year on year, and once they reached £100,000 a year there was an amicable parting from the Sussex Community Foundation since they too recognised that the 10% service fee constituted a significant amount of money that could be going to frontline services. In 2013 a Community Interest Company was set up, again with minimal overheads, and in 2019 the Rainbow Fund achieved charitable status. (There was an existing charity called the Rainbow Fund, so the name was changed to the Brighton Rainbow Fund).

AUGUST 2005...

A couple of news pieces from August 2005. Phil Starr taking possession of Starr’s Hotel on New Steine. Phil was hugely popular on the Brighton and London scenes, and was thrilled to take up residence. Sadly, Phil died suddenly just a few months later. His funeral was epic and was followed at the beginning of 2006 by a large tribute show at The Dome. For those of us who remember him, this YouTube tribute will bring happy memories. For those who never saw Phil, this what all the fuss was about. Y https://youtu.be/CtywDuyitfY We’ll come back to those in future archive features.

Yes, The Amsterdam had a sauna in 2005 (is it still there?)

AUGUST 2010

As the world reacts and reflects on the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests, we look back ten years to this news piece.

BEYOND LABELS

Big Up at GMFA presents Black & Gay in the UK: Rising Against the Challenges of Homophobia, Racism and HIV/AIDS, a free event in London that will feature a screening of the documentary film Beyond Labels in August at The Rich Mix, London. Directed by Jaime Sylla, the film explores the black gay male experience in London across the generations –from Gay Lib pioneer Ted Walker to the Oh WoW Boys, two young black gay men and modern-day YouTube stars. Produced by GMFA, the gay men’s health charity, Beyond Labels premiered at the 2010 London Lesbian and Jaime Sylla, the project manager for GMFA’s Big Up project, which creates sexual health interventions for black gay men in London, said: “In making the film, it became increasingly apparent that the lack of positive black gay role models can affect how black gay men see themselves and can limit their future aspirations. While there is still much to overcome, I hope that the experiences of those featured in ‘Beyond Labels’ will inspire others to thrive, shine and live happier, healthier lives.”

The film looks into the life experiences of a group of men who have often been historically rendered invisible and stigmatised by the communities they belong to because of their sexuality and race. Focusing on the lives of black gay men of different ages, it explores how racism, homophobia, HIV, migration and other issues can directly impact the construction of a healthy identity. The screening will be followed by a discussion panel with some leading figures in the black gay community, a Q&A session with members of the audience and refreshments.