A queer oral history project, highlighting the lived experiences of old and young LGBTQIA+ people in Nottingham, came to Sheffield Central Library this week.
The Notts Queer History Archive project, conducted by journalist, CJ De Barra, brings together interviews and stories from over 165 people.
The non-binary author held a talk at the library last Wednesday detailing their work, with support from the Steel City Queer History project.
The archive covers everything: stories from before the partial decriminalisation of private homosexual acts between men aged over 21 in 1967, the radical demonstrations by the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) in the seventies and eighties, the nightclubs of the nineties and the grassroots organisations of the 2010s.
Mx De Barra said they wanted to speak to people, especially LGBTQIA+ elders in Nottingham before the onset of any conditions they developed, like Alzheimer’s or dementia.
One 93-year-old interviewee had the most “crystal-clear memories of the 1960s” and where he used to go, including hidden parties in clubs and bars before the decriminalisation law change in 1967, and the number on the door where his friend lived.
Mx De Barra said: “In terms of Nottingham being a queer city, we are so used to hearing the stories of Brighton, London and Manchester, it is so important that we go to places like Sheffield and Nottingham that don’t get as much time and attention.”
The journalist and author also mentioned that they were the only Irish person that was included in the archive, despite reaching out to multiple communities in Nottingham.
They said: “Every city has [queer] stories. Because our history is predominantly handed down verbally – a lot of it isn’t written down – and that gets more and more miniscule as you go into certain communities.”
There’s also an activist side to the archive: Mx De Barra collected stories from grassroots organisations, activists and organisers fighting for the rights of queer and trans people in Nottingham.
They spoke to a group of lesbians that set up one of the only HIV and AIDS information projects in Nottingham at their time – a time when there was no NHS or public health information schemes.
The interviews were free-flowing, with Mx De Barra inviting some interviewees to the pub for a quick chat that turned into a longer, deeper conversation. They said: “Some of the people I’ve interviewed have now become the people I go to the pub with.”
As a former journalist, they’ve worked in the cannabis and CBD industry, IVF access for queer couples and many more issues, but they said that “this is the best thing I’ve ever worked on”.
They said that this archive has been a challenge at times, and it’s been difficult as they’re unfunded. They said: “It’s taken time. It has taken three years to get to a point where people feel comfortable to come and speak to me or will go to the pub.”
Now, however, they’ve had people leave items from the past with them, as a visual part of their history, as well as recommended friends and family to talk to for the archive.
Being a completely unfunded and independent history archive, The Notts Queer History Archive hopes to inspire regular people to begin queer history archiving in cities like Sheffield, so their queer histories don’t go unnoticed.
