Speak Out London - Diversity City

LGBTQ+ Oral History project

Speak Out London – Diversity City was a community led LGBTQ+ Oral History project based at The London Archives which received a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund through the Our Heritage funding stream.

The project focused on histories from 1945 to the present, creating a new and significant contemporary archive. This powerful community collection compliments and challenge more formal historical records and strengthens LGBTQ+ peoples voices. The opportunities for individuals and groups to participate has added to a greater knowledge and understanding and ensures that people, who were invisible and silent in the records, will be seen and heard and their histories secured for future generations.

Visitor looking at a wall display from the Speak Out london - Diversity City exhibition — Person looking at a wall display using content from the Speak Out london project

The project provided participants and volunteers with opportunities to work more closely with The London Archives, establishing community ownership in a place where people of all ages and backgrounds can contribute, explore, share and study collective histories in the years to come. The importance of volunteers to this project was recognised by the Archives and Records Association with Speak Out winning the National Archive Volunteering Award for 2017.

The Oral History’s and other collections associated with this projected can be accessed on site at The London Archives in our Mediatheque.