(Left to right): Winnie Ssanyu Sseruma, Ashtar, Angelina Namiba and Simon Collins
Celebrating Four Decades of Solidarity: Pits & Perverts 40th Anniversary Benefit
This commemorative event, jointly organized by activists from Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) and Lesbians and Gays Support the Migrants (LGSMigrants) sold out its 1,400 tickets, months in advance
The event featured a range of performances, speeches, and tributes. One speech was by two of the co-authors of Our Stories Told By Us, Angelina Namiba and Winnie Ssanyu Sseruma talking about the content of the Our Stories Told By Us book reflecting on the individual stories of resilience, recovery and leadership in the UK HIV response
The event raised funds for two vital causes in 2024. Part of the proceeds will support the IWGB Couriers’ strike funds. Couriers, including food delivery workers, are often paid poverty wages and face precarious and unjust working conditions. The industry is disproportionately made up of migrant workers who are frequently targeted and harassed by the Home Office through immigration raids.
The proceeds will also support Positive East, a long-running grassroots HIV organisation in East London. Positive East will use the funding for a peer education project for African migrant communities in the UK. The link to HIV is also in memory of Mark Ashton, the co-founder of LGSM in 1984 and other members of the group who later died from AIDS.
Thank you to everyone who attended the event