By the early 1970s, queer organisations like the Sussex Gay Liberation Front began campaigning for gay rights. Yet it was the fight against Clause 28 - law aimed at stopping the promotion of homosexuality – that truly galvanised queer people throughout the country, laying the foundation for the LGBTIQ+ protest movement we know today.

'Brighton Resists' mural on the Marlborough Pub & Theatre by Hizzie Fletcher (2017), using archive materials. Part of the Brighton Resists exhibition documenting the Brighton & Hove LGBTIQ+ community action against Section 28 legislation. Supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Photography by Rosie Powell.

Images from Brighton Reists, an exhibtion curated by Queer In Brighton, and showing at the Marlborough Pub and theatre from March 27 2017 for two weeks. This exhibition was the culmination of the first 6 months of running Brighton LGBTIQ+ History Club, and was developed collectively using archival material from the keep. Brighton Resists uses the Section 28 campaign as a starting point to look at the history of LGBTQ+ activism in our city. Using collections at The Keep (University of Sussex) and from the Queer in Brighton archive, as well as pictures from Melita Dennett's personal collection, this exhibition gives snapshots of when our communities have come together to resist oppressive legislation, harassment and invisibility.

This snippet is part of a longer interview Roger Nicholls gave to Queer In Brighton oral history project. Roger describes his experiences as a teacher, and as an activist during the Section 28 era.

Jane Traies: on secrets, books, and being whole Writer, researcher, storyteller and oral historian Jane Traies has been recording the life histories of the oldest generations of lesbians in the UK. Some of these stories feature in her books The Lives of Older Lesbians: Sexuality, Identity and the Life Course (2016) and Now You See Me (2018). In November 2021 we had the opportunity and privilege of listening to Jane's story. The story of a journey from secrecy to finding community. Via a very precious copy of Maureen Duffy's "The microcosm". Recorded remotely on November 18, 2021 Interview by: Roni Guetta and David Sheppeard Editing and original music by Olive Mondegreen

Section 28 Protest March 1988-89 Brighton & Hove, 13 x photographs