Oh, an island…?
Katie King, Curator: Art & Social History, for Manx National Heritage said:
“Alan Shea’s protest suit is one of the most important contemporary items we have in our social history collections. We are delighted to be exhibiting the suit and telling the protest story this Tynwald Day.
It is extraordinary to think how much the Island’s attitude has changed. Last month thousands of people joyously attended the Island’s first Pride festival, but just 30 years ago Alan was subjected to jeering and hissing as he presented his petition. His bravery and courage and the momentum built by the Ellan Vannin Gay Group’s campaign led not only to a change in the law but a complete change in attitude on the Island. Watching the film footage of the protest through the lens of 2021 is truly shocking.
We are inviting people to visit the display during the afternoon, have a chat with us about this period in our history and perhaps share with us their own memories or reflections on the protest. This display forms part of our Collecting Pride project, which is a month long campaign to collect, record and represent stories from members of the Island’s LGBTQIA+ community to mark the Island’s first Pride festival.
We are very grateful to Alan Shea for donating his suit and his papers documenting this period. We would also like to thank Culture Vannin, who are working with us to set up the display at their office at St Johns.”
XOXO
P. S. Pride is every day.
I subscribe to The Guardian, their work is outstanding.
ReplyDeleteHate is nothing but ignorance with a splash of stupidity.
ReplyDeleteThe idea that people killing themselves because of the fear of being outed or jailed was not enough to sway people to be more accepting says everything.
xoxo
HuntleyBiGuy:
ReplyDeleteTheir past looks like our future. 😕
XOXO👨🏼❤️💋👨🏽
Big says,
ReplyDeletePride "celebrated by those too young to know of the struggles of the past...." Too true. Sadly, they might be finding out, as Huntley suggests: our past looks to be their future. Some countries have already reversed course, and the religious nationalists are working hard to force this country back to the 50s.
XOXO