Brighton & Hove LGBT Switchboard

🏳️‍⚧️ Trans Awareness Week 13-19 Nov 🏳️‍⚧️

The first in our video series from Switchboard. CEO Rob Sainsbury shares how he stands with our trans community: advocating for rights, tackling inequalities and challenging oppression.

#IStandWithTrans #TransRights #LGBTQ+

Day 31: Le Gateau Chocolat (he/they).
British-Nigerian drag artist and operatic baritone. Works include “BLACK”, “ICONS”, “DUCKIE”. Credits span Royal Albert Hall, Barbican and Sydney Opera House.
#BlackHistoryStory #BHM2025

Day 30: Josef Cabey (he/him).
Artist based in Brighton. Works across painting and digital with text. “Conversations” links Black queer past and present; projects shown with SEAS, Phoenix and BMECP.
#BlackHistoryStory #BHM2025

Day 29: Yasmin Benoit (she/her).

Asexual and aromantic activist and model. Co-founded International Asexuality Day in 2021 and partnered with Stonewall on the Ace Project and Ace in the UK report.

#BlackHistoryStory #BHM2025

🌈 Become a Trustee at Brighton & Hove LGBT Switchboard – one of the UK’s oldest LGBTQ+ charities. We’re looking for people passionate about inclusion, with skills in fundraising, marketing, comms or governance. Apply by 14 Nov: joshua.wells@switchboard.org.uk - details here: www.bit.ly/join-trustee

Day 28: Tarana Burke (she/her).
Founded “me too.” in 2006 to support survivors. In 2017 the hashtag spread worldwide and the Silence Breakers were TIME Person of the Year. Author of “Unbound” (2021).
#BlackHistoryStory #BHM2025

Day 27: Georgina Beyer (she/her).
First openly transgender mayor (Carterton, 1995) and first openly transgender MP (Wairarapa, 1999). Backed sex work decriminalisation in 2003 and civil unions in 2004. Died in 2023 at 65.
#BlackHistoryStory #BHM2025

Day 26: Marsha P. Johnson (she/her).
Activist and drag queen. Co-founded STAR and ran STAR House for homeless LGBTQ youth. Stonewall protester. Died in 1992; death later reclassified “undetermined”, with renewed attention in 2012.
#BlackHistoryStory #BHM2025

Day 25: Ivor Cummings (he/him).
Colonial Office official who met the Empire Windrush in 1948, fixed beds at Clapham South, issued travel warrants and linked people to work in London and beyond. Often called the gay father of Windrush.
#BlackHistoryStory #BHM2025

Day 24: Justin Fashanu (he/him).
First openly gay professional footballer in the UK. Norwich City’s 1980 Goal of the Season v Liverpool. £1m move to Nottingham Forest in 1981. Hall of Fame in 2020.
#BlackHistoryStory #BHM2025

Day 23 of Black History Story.
ALOK Vaid-Menon (they/them) - writer and performer; author of “Beyond the Gender Binary” (2020). Touring work that blends poetry, comedy and social commentary.
#BlackHistoryStory #BHM2025 #BlackHistoryMonth

Day 22 of Black History Story.
Tarik Elmoutawakil (he/him) is Founder and Co-Artistic Director at Marlborough Productions in Brighton, and the creator of Brownton Abbey centring disabled queer people of colour.
#BlackHistoryStory #BHM2025 #BlackHistoryMonth

Day 21 of Black History Story.
Stormé DeLarverie (she/her) was a drag king with the Jewel Box Revue, a Stonewall veteran, and a Village guardian who kept people safe outside lesbian bars.
#BlackHistoryStory #BHM2025 #BlackHistoryMonth

Thank you to all our partners who joined our LGBTQ+ 50+ Services Showcase!

We’re already thinking about what’s next.
If you’re part of a group or service that supports older LGBTQ+ communities, drop us a line – we’d love to hear from you: BOLD@switchboard.org.uk
#LGBTQ50Plus #BrightonAndHove

Day 20 of Black History Story.
Son of a Tutu (he/she/they) is a British Nigerian drag artist, actor and activist. Drag Idol UK 2011. Helped lead the Soho vigil after Orlando in 2016. Iris Prize 2023 for “Lemon”, in “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie”. #BlackHistoryStory #BHM2025 #BlackHistoryMonth

Day 19 of Black History Story.
Aneesa Chaudhry (she/her) is a Brighton singer, conductor and voice coach. As Musical Director of Rainbow Chorus she builds community through music and takes LGBTQ+ voices to Pride, Trans Pride and World AIDS Day.
#BlackHistoryStory #BHM2025 #BlackHistoryMonth

Win a huge squishy pumpkin and help raise funds for our LGBTQ+ Grief groups

#LGBTQgrief #LGBTQBereavement #lgbtqloss #brightonandhove

www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/qr/mnQqraMn

Day 18 of Black History Story.
Bayard Rustin (he/him) was the strategist behind the 1963 March on Washington and a key voice for nonviolence. Openly gay, he faced a 1953 arrest later pardoned in 2020, and received the 2013 Medal of Freedom.
#BlackHistoryStory #BHM2025 #BlackHistoryMonth

Day 17 of Black History Story.
Pearl Alcock (she/her) turned life into art and community into care. She kept a Brixton shebeen, then in her 50s made work later shown at Tate Britain and the Whitworth.
#BlackHistoryStory #BHM2025 #BlackHistoryMonth

Day 16 of Black History Story.
Ted Brown (he/him) is a UK activist who helped organise early Pride and spent decades pushing for Black queer visibility, media accountability and safer services for LGBTQ+ people. #BlackHistoryStory #BHM2025 #BlackHistoryMonth

Day 15 of Black History Story.
Miss Major Griffin-Gracy (she/her) fought for trans liberation for 50+ years, from Stonewall to House of GG and TGIJP.
This October Switchboard shares Black History Stories.
#BlackHistoryStory #BHM2025 #BlackHistoryMonth

Purple graphic with bold text " NATIONAL HATE CRIME AWARENESS WEEK 11-18 October" then smaller text says "This year's focus is on anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime. Below is the switchboard logo featuring a row of dots in the colours of the inclusive progress flag. At the bottom are hashtags NationalHCAW and BrightonAndHove

National Hate Crime Awareness Week, 11–18 October

This year’s focus is on anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime. We at Switchboard stand with Brighton’s LGBTQ+ community.

Report to Sussex Police online or via 101, or visit www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/news/2025/re....
#NationalHCAW #BrightonAndHove #LGBTQ

Day 14 of Black History Story.

Skin (she/her) turned rock stages into spaces for truth. From Brixton to Glastonbury, she’s shown what authenticity sounds like, who it makes room for.

In October Switchboard shares staff-nominated Black History Stories
#BlackHistoryStory #BHM2025 #BlackHistoryMonth

Day 13 of Black History Story.

AFLO. the poet (she/they) uses spoken word to challenge racism, centre healing and build community in Brighton. Art as action. Voice as change.

This October Switchboard shares staff nominated Black History Stories.
#BlackHistoryStory #BHM2025 #BlackHistoryMonth

Yesterday was Day 12 of Black History Story.
James Baldwin turned language into action, calling out racism, homophobia and silence. His voice still asks us to face what we fear.
This October Switchboard shares staff-nominated Black History Stories.
#BlackHistoryStory #BHM2025 #BlackHistoryMonth

Day 11 of Black History Story. Marc Thompson has spent 30+ years fighting HIV stigma and building visibility for Black queer men. Through Prepster and Blackout UK, he turns advocacy into action, and action into change.
#BlackHistoryStory #BHM2025 #BlackHistoryMonth

Graphic for World Mental Health Day featuring a green ribbon and text that reads: ‘Today is World Mental Health Day – a moment to pause, reflect and remind ourselves that mental health is something we all share.’ The Switchboard logo appears at the bottom.

It’s World Mental Health Day.
Caring for our mental health - and for each other - shouldn’t happen only once a year.
If it feels heavy, reach out. You’re not alone in this.

Day 10 of Black History Story. Hope Powell (she/her) redefined leadership in football, becoming the first woman and first Black coach of an England team. She pairs results with responsibility, pushing inclusion across the game. #BlackHistoryStory #BHM2025 #BlackHistoryMonth

Day 9 of Black History Story. Monica Roberts (she/her) changed the way media speaks about trans people. Through her blog TransGriot, she gave Black trans women the visibility and dignity they deserved.
#BlackHistoryStory #BHM2025 #BlackHistoryMonth

Day 8 of Black History Story. Munroe Bergdorf (she/her) stands at the intersection of trans and racial justice. Her voice challenges inequality with honesty and hope, turning visibility into lasting change.
#BlackHistoryStory #BHM2025 #BlackHistoryMonth