The Offences Against the Person Act changed the punishment for homosexual acts from death to a prison term of hard labour between 10 years and life. Charles Record, a year-old labourer, was committed to Birmingham Borough Lunatic Asylum. The Imperial Hotel on Temple Street in Birmingham was a popular place for gay men to meet throughout the s and 50s. Birmingham Gay Liberation Front was established.
Home - Sexual Health - Black and Gay. I am a 50 year-old black gay male. I came across the gay scene in Birmingham by accident. At the age of 16, I came to live in the Highgate area of Birmingham.
Yet some last long enough to become important institutions in their own right. It was a landmark year for British gay history, thanks to the passage of a bill decriminalising homosexuality in private. It was also a bittersweet victory, one which came with a higher age of consent for gay men, limited jurisdiction the bill applied only in England and Wales and harsher punishments for gay people caught on the streets. Same-sex affection shown in straight pubs often led to violence and harassment.
The other night, two guys walked into a bar and asked the bartender what options were there out there for black gays in Birmingham. Then I heard the bartender yell my name from across the room. I approached them and was asked to reply to their question. Immediately I knew they were from Atlanta.