Going shoulder to shoulder with your community in solidarity with a common cause is a social phenomenon going back decades, uniting people around ending injustice. And yet, so often, so little attention is paid to how we got to this point, and how protest has become an integral part of community-building, particularly for a group as marginalised as the LGBTQ+ community. But no longer, as Jake Hall’s Shoulder to Shoulder shines a light on the activism that has defined civil resistance.
“Why is this story not more widely known?” asks Hall as they discuss the generations of activism, both queer and otherwise, that has formulated many of the rights and privileges we all know today. Trying to get involved in demonstrations still today, Hall spoke about how much public discourse has evolved since the 60s and 70s, and how their book is not a “handbook for activists”, yet of the myriad benefits its content can bring.
Their texts, which have even found their way onto curriculums in some areas, remain targeted, specifically in the U.S. by book banning fanatics, yet hearing teachers in the audience seeking to include Shoulder to Shoulder in their own teaching was heartwarming. “There’s real power in leaning into the good”, and Hall embodied this throughout their talk, and in his piece.
Speaking about the history of queer solidarity, Hall spoke about their family history, the relation between himself and miners, and the wider solidarity that the LGBTQ+ community showed during the Miners’ Strike of the 1980s. Having “more in common with miners than [they] do politicians”, their passion was evident and characterises their entire approach to this topic, and the publication as a whole. It also provided a clear insight into their entire approach, particularly given their working-class background, a concept which is rarely touched upon, or attempted to be dismantled.
Leaving with “a really long list of people to look up on Wikipedia”, Hall’s Off The Shelf talk was an inspiring and insightful look into the history of queer activism, intersectionality and the role activists play in wider society. Leading with key points and areas to consider, Hall’s take on the role activism plays, particularly given the rise of the far-right and the racist riots this summer, was a measured and nuanced consideration of where we have come from and where we have still to go. Whilst I haven’t read Shoulder to Shoulder, I am excited to pick it up and delve into the history for myself!
Rating: ★★★★☆
Shoulder to Shoulder was published in May 2024. Other Off the Shelf Festival events can be found here
