‘Our stories usually aren’t recognised’: The podcast bringing to life an archive of Black queer Britain
metro.co.ukBlack people in the LGBTQ+ community, as Black queer history in Britain can be hard to find.During Black History month, the stories amplified usually focus on straight people, while, when it comes to LGBT+ history, those accounts tend to come from those who are often white.
Which means there’s little space left for stories about Black queer people. ‘Our stories usually aren’t recognised in any one of those,’ adds Thompson.However, with so many remarkable people to have changed the face of Black queer Britain, he says it’s viral they don’t go unhonoured.‘We don’t really celebrate what I like to call the extra-ordinary people,’ explains Thompson, who also works as a mentor. ‘The people who made our lives really special, who by just simply existing got us to where we are today.’Determined to change that, he joined forces with journalist and writer Jason Okundaye to create Black and Gay, Back in the Day, a digital community archive of Black queer history curated by the pair.Their aim was to challenge the dominate narratives of both Black and LGBT+ history, by documenting the stories over the decades of queer Black Britain through photos submitted by the community.Launched in February 2021, Instagram became the perfect space for the conversation to begin, and the account was an instant success.
Many young Black people, were able to really engage with the people, places and stories coming through in the photos, with many, myself included, rarely having had access to such a plethora of images of older Black queer people in Britain.It also impacted the older generation who were able to memorialise lost friends, reminiscence and reconnect with others and share their stories.Now, in an exciting next step, the photos are being.
