House of Brag have established a new squatted Queer Social Centre in Brixton, and will be running a heap of events between June 29th to July 12th 2014, as an alternative to the corporate, homogenised, establishment official (Gay) Pride London. The social centre is based at:
432 COLDHARBOUR LANE, BRIXTON, SW9
For more information on events, check their blog: http://houseofbrag.wordpress.com/
Taken from their website:
“Brag is back where queer & radical squatting in London began – where the Brixton Fairies opened their squatted Gay Community Centre in 1974, where Olive Morris fought the police and cracked squats for black families, where squatted women’s centres offered space for feminist activism and refuge to women and kids fleeing domestic violence, where the squatted Sabaar Bookshop hosted Black Panthers meetings and the anarchist 121 Centre put on Queeruption, where whole streets and blocks of flats were reclaimed and turned into homes and community spaces.
But radical politics and community organising in Brixton isn’t just a thing of the past. Several people involved with Brag this year have lived and worked and partied and done art and activism in Brixton in recent years. We’re also excited to get involved and show solidarity with stuff happening here right now like Housing Action Southwark & Lambeth, the campaign to Save Brixton College, Black Activists Rising Against Cuts, the Ritzy Cinema workers’ strike for the living wage, anti-gentrification activists, fellow squatters and queers and queer squatters…”
We prioritise providing a space and a platform to voices that otherwise have difficulty being heard. We would like to hear from groups fighting oppression both here and abroad, from people with stories to tell and ideas to share. Talks, workshops, debates and discussions, film screenings, performances, music and fun, whatever shape your event might take, we’d love to hear about it. Have a read of our Core Principles (below) to ensure you’re happy with what we’re about.
What is LQSC? The London Queer Social Centre is a squatted, volunteer-run, non-commercial project intended to provide a large free-to-use space available to queer/activist/liberation/radical and local communities to organise, network, share ideas, relax and have fun. It may be worth noting that although LQSC is not alcohol-oriented we do not have a dry space policy – alcohol may be brought in and around the space at any time except on specifically designated dry days. If you like to run an event on a dry-day, please get in touch.
Can I get involved? Sure! LQSC seeks to blur the line between service provider and service user. We run open organisational meetings (watch out for notifications of these on Twitter and Facebook) and we’d love to see you there. And we’ll need volunteers to help with the social centre itself – cleaning, cooking, setting up for events, etc. If you’d like to be involved with that, please email us and tell us!
Contact: If you’re part of a group that would like to run an event during this year’s social centre, please drop us an email explaining your idea to house.of.brag[at]gmail.com
Core Principles
i) We aim to create a platform centring the normally most marginalised voices. In line with this aim, we will not be dedicating stage time to political parties
ii) Donations do not buy a platform, logo, or any other special treatment or exposure
iii) We don’t negotiate or engage with the police
iv) We aspire to create spaces emphasizing safety, inclusivity and liberation
v) No entry to any of our events for people with fascist affiliations
vi) We consider squatting as a core tactical tool, in the militant spirit of pride as a protest
