Compiled By GayToday
Some of the hundreds of protestors
gathered to remember the bombing victims
Photo: John Hunt/OutRage! London
London--Despite driving rain earlier in the afternoon, 1000 people of all races and sexualities thronged Old Compton Street at 6:30 last Friday for the Vigil commemorating the victims of the bomb one week earlier, and the victims of the two previous bombings in Brixton and Brick Lane.
As well as an act of remembrance, the Vigil was an affirmation of community defiance of homophobia, queer-bashing, and neo-nazi terrorism.
Tom Robinson
Photo: John Hunt/OutRage! London |
Gay pop singer Tom Robinson opened with a soulful rendition of "Lean on Me". Then, at 6:37 p.m., the exact time that the bomb exploded on 30th April, there was a minute's silence in remembrance.
Organized by OutRage! --and bringing together representatives of the Black, Asian, and Gay communities hit by the bomber-- the Vigil's purpose was made clear by Peter Tatchell, who said: "Our message tonight is: 'United we stand. Bombs will not divide us, nor drive us underground'". |
There were shouts of agreement and applause when, referring to the House of Lords veto of an Equal Age of Consent on 13th April, which was spearheaded by the Conservative peeress Baroness Young of Farnworth.
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Tatchell stated: "Baroness Young fuelled the hate; the bomber lit the fuse."
Speakers representing the different communities shattered by April's three bombings underlined the close connexion between racism and homophobia, and deplored the procrastination of our politicians in equalising the Age of Consent, repealing Section 28, eradicating bullying in schools, (see Stonewall or THT), and the Government's failure to crack down on hate crimes.
Ken Livingstone, MP --the former leader of the Greater London Council-- urged the Government to respond to the bombing by repealing Section 28 which, he said, was inhibiting the ability of teachers to challenge homophobic prejudice and bullying in schools.
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Livingstone said this failure to tackle antigay attitudes gave free reign to the bigotry that inspired the bomber and his neonazi sympathisers.
Black speakers --Teresa Bennett of the Anti-Nazi League, Darryl Telles of the National Assembly against Racism, and Sukwant Dhaliwal of Southall Black Sisters (SBS)-- urged a united front to challenge racism and homophobia and to defend the Black, Asian, and Gay communities against right-wing extremist violence.
Tess Joseph of the Jewish Gay and Lesbian Group
Photo: John Hunt/OutRage! London |
Tess Joseph of the Jewish Gay and Lesbian Group read a statement from the Chief Rabbi, Prof. Jonathan Sacks, which said: "Once again human beings are being murdered because of who and what they are. These bombings are not just attacks on specific communities: they are attacks on our humanity and diversity. They remind us of the hatred that still survives towards minorities ... We stand with the people of Brixton, Brick Lane, and Soho, ready to fight for all people to live without fear, knowing that a society that cannot live with difference cannot live at all." |
A number of speakers underlined the need for immediate Government action by referring to their own personal experiences. -- Sue Sanders of School's Out, (the campaign against homophobia in schools), told how, as an out lesbian, she had had to give up teaching; and Tom Robinson spoke of the homophobia he experienced at school, which at the time had led him to contemplate suicide. Tom led the crowd in singing his gay anthem, "Glad to be Gay", with a new verse written in response to the Soho bomb.
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