February is LGBT History Month, and The University of Nottingham is hosting a range of public lectures, discussions, film screenings and more to explore LGBT culture, the history of the community and the challenges ahead.

The events will run throughout the month, with contributions from local organisations and the Rights and Justice Research Priority Area (RPA) based at the University. All are free, and everyone is welcome.

Why are these celebrations so important?

This is the fourth year running that the University has organised a programme of events for LGBT History Month. This gives the Nottingham LGBT community a platform to meet and celebrate, but it also asks challenging questions. How do we respond to LGBT hate crime? Why is Pride so important across the globe? What impact will political upheaval have on the LGBT community, and how can we build resilience in a changing world?

Many events will take place in popular community venues around the city including the Nottingham Contemporary, Broadway Cinema and Nottingham Writers’ Studio, as well as on the University’s campuses. By both welcoming guests onto campus and bringing events out into the community, the University hopes to make it easier than ever for the public to get involved.

Dates for your diary

Highlights from the programme include:

• Intersections: in conversation with the LGBT community in Nottingham, in which representatives from the Notts Trans Hub, QTIPOC Notts, Outburst, Out in Education, and Nottingham’s universities examine the situation of the city’s LGBT community, Sunday 5 February
• Responding to LGBT hate crime, a discussion exploring hate crime through policing and community interaction between Lynda Kelly, Nottinghamshire Police, and Hannah-Rose Murray, Postgraduate Director of the Rights and Justice RPA, Friday 10 February
• Storm Drenched Minds, a documentary screening telling the story of two women who live together with a disability, Thursday 16 February
• Pay It No Mind, a film screening about the life of Marsha P Johnson, revolutionary trans activist, Stonewall instigator and Andy Warhol model, Sunday 19 February
• LGBT research showcase with work from University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University scholars, Thursday 23 February
• Rainbow refugees: LGBT rights in refugee an asylum law, a discussion around former and current immigration policy towards LGBT communities, and plans for the future in a post-Brexit and post-Trump climate, Tuesday 28 February

For a full gallery of events and links to register, visit the University’s People and Culture blog.

Listening to the community

Dr Max Biddulph, Associate Professor in Education and Counselling and Chair of the University’s LGBT Staff Network, said: “With this programme, we have been keen to listen to our LGBT communities with the aim of reflecting as strongly as possible some of the current thinking and concerns as well as working with our partners across the city.

“The result is a rich spectrum of events that address both the process of articulating voice via activism, responding to current challenges such as hate crime, looking inwardly at the composition of our communities and examining the intersections with other dimensions of identity that make up contemporary global LGBT experiences.”

Ibtisam Ahmed, Director of LGBT History Month for the Centre for Research in Race and Rights and the Rights and Justice RPA, said: “The University of Nottingham’s LGBT community is diverse and intersectional, which is what the Centre for Research in Race and Rights is aiming to showcase with this year’s range of History Month programmes.

“On the one hand, we hope to interrogate the nature of the community within the UK and reflect a wider range of opinions than is conventionally shown. On the other hand, we are excited to welcome speakers from various countries to remind participants of the importance of LGBTHM in varied contexts. As a BME queer international student, I am proud to see the University taking part in these much-needed conversations.”

Keep up to date

For updates throughout February, follow @UoNPandC on Twitter. Visit the University’s People and Culture blog for news, events, comment and more throughout October blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/peopleandculture

Image: Rainbow flag flying over the Trent Building, University Park for IDAHOBIT.