Queer Footprints: A Guide to Uncovering London's Fierce History

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The incredible nooks and crannies we’ve been denied knowledge of, the revolutionary movements and extraordinary people who’ve set up the pubs and spaces that have made us who we are. Glass: Ooooh controversial one. I left out a lot of movement tactics that relate to ‘identity politics.’ Not the kind of identity politics that results in positive affirmation of marginalised communities, but the kind of identity politics that result in a reductive ‘oppression olympics’, a race-to-the-bottom understanding of change-making whereby everyone ends up at a dead-end road. Glass has used his vast experience as a campaigner to create something dizzyingly energetic. His writing isn't just informative; it compels you to act.’ A fascinating and passionate ode to queer London in all its glory. Dan Glass has inspired hundreds if not thousands of people towards social justice and the transformative power of community activism. He has created London’s new essential anthology of heroic queer histories and the untold stories of queers who built the world's greatest city. Read it for empowerment and take pride in their achievements'

Specifically, I hope people will draw from the modes of expression that queer people have utilised to confront, respond and transform their situations living with rising LGBTQIA+ hate crime. The book records and disseminates artistic and activist processes to confront a variety of forms of institutionalised homophobia through workshops, performances, events, exhibitions, street interventions and community organising. It helps to build confidence, knowledge and skills to work with and challenge local and national governments to ensure social policies advantage the ongoing development of the LGBTQIA+ community. Dan's enthusiasm and passion for LGBTQIA+ culture is relentless. It is impossible to read this book without being swept up into the legend of London's Queer history of resistance, solidarity and downright fabulosity. By the end of this book you will be marching on the streets in a thong' It is helpful, however, to question everything if you think that an injustice to one is an injustice to all. As the late great popular educator Paulo Freire said, we must ‘read our own reality and write our own history’ to transform the world around us. LSE Library has been home to the Hall-Carpenter Archives since 1988. It’s an extensive collection of archives, ephemera and printed material documenting the development of gay activism in the UK since the 1950s. There are remarkable books and then there is Queer Footprints . Highly informative, witty, candid and steeped in historical detail, Dan Glass serves as the bobbin in the weaving process of herstories, bringing you an immersive reading experience which makes necessary the act of radical love. This book will be used to celebrate and honour the forebears of queer movements whose lives have afforded much of the liberties enjoyed today, as well as reminding us that the fight against injustice is far from over. Whether you’re a Londoner, a visitor or someone who's never stepped foot in the city, Queer Footprints will enrich your knowledge of queer history 'United Queerdom: From the Legends of the Gay Liberation Front to the Queers of Tomorrow is a toolkit of case studies, strategies, philosophies, methodologies and tactics for LGBTQIA+ liberation. But it doesn’t stop there. In the spirit of the original aims of the Gay Liberation Front (GLF), who started the modern Pride movement, it exists in the spirit of `Absolute Freedom for All’ and lives by the mantra of ‘All Injustices Are Connected.’ A truly rewarding read, full of insights and knowledge and intertwined with anecdotes from those who were there. The book is a goldmine for those interested in finding out about the queer history of the streets of London ' A fascinating walk through the early years of Gay Liberation to the (partial) decriminalisation of Homosexuality in June 1967' Beautiful, heartbreaking and inspiring… A series of stories that honour, celebrate, uplift and credit the people who have contributed to our extraordinary community' Dan Glass is an award-winning activist, mentor, performer and writer. He uses music, performance and protest to catalyse love, soul, revolution and justice in communities confronting injustice. Dan is an educator from Training for Transformation (TfT). Dan has been named one of Attitude Magazine’s campaigning role models for LGBT youth, GaydarRadio Heroes Awards for Gay Rights activism and a Guardian ‘UK youth climate leader’ for famously supergluing the Prime Minister. Dan was recently awarded the ‘activist of the year’ at the ‘Sexual Freedom Awards 2017’ for contributions to sex-positive, queer, healthcare and human rights movements for social justice.

Nite Dykes is a monthly nite for LGBT womxn. A brand spanking new lez-fest from the powerhouses behind Resis’dance, Faggamuffin Bloc Party and Goldsnap: Gin and Mica. As a grandchild of four Nazi Holocaust survivors I’ve spent my life trying to understand how we can overcome victimhood to generate deep empathy with everyone and the courage to continually fight the system rather than each other. I learn from many including Willem Arondeus, a queer Dutch anti-fascist. In 1943 he blew up a records office that the Nazis were about to pilfer and saved thousands of lives. Just before he was executed his last words were: ‘Let it be known that homosexuals are not cowards.’

One thing I specifically tried to do in this book is to be optimistic. Angela Davis talks about optimism as a radical act: “You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.” Also, Paulo Freire’s book Pedagogy of Hope says that we continually have to sculpt hope in our lives and our movements. Not in a false way of “let’s all link arms and give peace a chance.” No: we have to look at the structures in society and build structurally in response. That’s one thing which helped me strike [the balance]: movements which are hopeful, and which have created active change. Radical and revolutionary… Queer Footprints will be used in the decades to come to guide queer youth and transform the conversation about trans issues. Dan Glass will lead you gasping for more, and by the end, you’ll be fighting for justice on the streets ' They have helped fight for, and won, PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) – medication taken to prevent HIV – to be mainstreamed and available and catalysing huge public awareness campaigns to destigmatise HIV across Ireland. Not only was it deeply inspiring to learn about the seismic achievements of the LGBTQ+ and healthcare movements here but also learning about Queer Icons in Dublin!

I am also part of a very exciting legal initiative to build a case to take the government to court for the crime that was Section 28, for the harm done to every queer in Britain. It may not be successful but it’s damn well worth a try. That hugely inspiring stories of queer love, connection and community power are everywhere. I am still buzzing from the Queer Footprints book launch and panel at the fab Outhouse in Dublin a few months ago. Q: In the book’s introduction you stress the importance of movement, walking and taking up the space, of engaging with history rather than just reading about it. Is that something you want readers to take from the book?NOTCHES: Whose stories or what topics were left out of your book and why? What would you include had you been able to? There was also reading lots of newspapers, reading other books like Queer London, Matt Houlbrook’s book which [covers] mainly 1918 to 1957, the era just before the one I write about. And also just keeping my ear open for other things – it was a process of active engagement. An intersectional approach is not just vital on a moral level, it’s vital on a political level. The powers that be thrive on separating us and not letting us connect. We’re all impacted by the same dominator culture of patriarchal, sexist, homophobic, racist, ableist violence – we’re all affected within that framework, so we all have to work together on the ground. It’s deeply powerful – lesbians and gays supporting the miners is a classic example of the strength of movements coming together, which helps people humanise each other as well as being deeply politically effective. NOTCHES: (re)marks on the history of sexuality is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. An essential and extensive guide through the spaces in London which have enabled change across the world… All told with the enthusiasm and wonder of one of the most passionate and creative queer activists in the UK, Dan Glass'

Queer Footprints: A Guide to Uncovering London’s Fierce History takes an innovative look at the English capital’s LGBTQ+ history and the hidden “nooks and crannies” that reveal our stories. Author and activist Dan Glass tells us what inspired him to write the book. LSE Library organised a Picadilly walking tour and panel event on Friday 9 June 2023 to mark the book’s launch which featured a display of materials from LSE’s Hall-Carpenter Archives and panellists from the UK branch of the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) , formed at LSE in 1970. And if you are in London or you plan to visit, take it into the streets, on your own or with friends, with strangers, whatever works for you.Meet Author and Campaigner, Dan Glass and RCA graduate and illustrator, Mark Glasgow. They will take you on a journey in a ground-breaking new guidebook to London, Queer Footprints. Dan Glass is an AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) healthcare and human rights activist, performer, presenter and writer. Dan has been recognised as 'Activist of the Year' with the Sexual Freedom Awards and was announced a 'BBC Greater Londoner' for founding Queer Tours of London - A Mince Through Time. His book United Queerdom: From the Legends of the Gay Liberation Front to the Queers of Tomorrow was Observer book of the week. Dan recently founded self-defence empowerment programme Bender Defenders and Queer Night Pride to confront rising hate crime. Follow him @danglassmincer. Glass: It was a balance between 65 interviews with some of the legendary founders of Pride and the early members of the Gay Liberation Front along with multiple pioneers in social justice movements, who continue their journey for justice for all, and my own experience. The autobiographical elements came through speaking with my twin sister and finally allowing myself to remember what I went through as a child living under Section 28, the ruthless and barbaric legislation that wiped our identities as queers out of existence. I wanted to include all the unfurling and unleashing that happened since then on the streets and raves and bedrooms across London, and also uncover icons throughout history and across the world who paved the way for the Gay Liberation Front.