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Savitri Hensman
A Sri Lankan LGBTQIA+ activist and outreach officer for the Black Lesbian and Gay Centre
Other names
Savi Hensman
Place of birth
Date of arrival to Britain
About
Savitri ‘Savi’ Hensman was born in Sri Lanka and migrated to London with her parents when she was 2 years old.
She became involved with the Islington and Haringey Gay Group as a student at University College London, where she studied chemical engineering. As an anti-racist and LGBTQIA+ campaigner, Hensman was drawn to the Lesbian Gay and Black Group which, at the time of her joining, was campaigning in support of the Bradford 12.
In 1985 she applied to work for the Black Lesbian and Gay Centre, where she was a part-time outreach and development officer.
BLGC Newsletters 1987–2000, LGBTQIA+ Online Archive, Bishopsgate Institute, https://www.bishopsgate.org.uk/collections/black-lesbian-and-gay-centre
Savi Hensman Oral History, Haringey Vanguard, Haringey Archives and Museums, https://www.hqbh.co.uk/night-life/savi-hensman/
Image credit
© Remaking Britain: South Asian Connections and Networks, 1930s – present
