"Be a Change-Maker" - Peter Tatchell Visits Charters

We were delighted to welcome human rights activist Peter Tatchell to Charters School this week. Peter, who has been campaigning for 56 years since his first endeavour in 1967 aged just 15, had a clear message: "Be a Change-Maker". If you feel strongly about an injustice then make sure that you do something about it.

Peter has campaigned for many things from climate change and civil liberties, to LGBTQ+ rights, and his fundamental belief is that everyone should have the right to protest and try to make a change.  Protests are a way in which, as a people, we can hold those in power accountable.   Although he may be know for his more elaborate methods of protest, Peter stressed that such protests were never done purely for the sake of it but were usually the result of more sedate measures having no effect.  Peter also feels passionate about helping those who do not have a voice to bring about change in their own countries. 

As a gay man, Peter grew up in the 1960s and 70s with no positive role models and where same sex partnerships were considered a sickness, never mentioned in school and criminalised.  Peter joined the Gay Liberation Front and on 1 July 1972, along with 30 or so members, they staged their first Gay Pride march.  The term 'pride' being used as a counter to the idea that being gay brought shame.  In contrast to its humble beginning, the 1997 post-march celebration on Clapham common saw over 300,000 people attend.

Times are changing, and most notably laws giving equal rights to the LGBQT+ community on many levels, have grown rapidly in the fourteen years since1999 to 2013 with the introduction of same-sex marriages.  So social change is possible.

Following Peter's talk, students had a Q&A session with him, asking a variety of questions that both praised and challenged his work.  Our Sixth Form students asked insightful questions, and Year 12 Nora especially, put some tough thoughts to Peter about his role in several topical issues.

Thank you to Peter for sharing time from his busy schedule with us today, to our Sixth Form students Libby and Yaprak who initiated the visit, and to our dedicated teachers Miss Joel and Miss Hughs for their organisation and support.

If you wish to find out more about Peter, his website is https://www.petertatchellfoundation.org/join-us/