June kicks off the start of Pride Season!
We support our 2SLGBTQ+ members and continue to work towards positively impacting the professional lives of queer educators.
When speaking of Pride, the Stonewall Riots are usually the first historical event mentioned. However, Canada has its own rich history and turning points in the struggle for and eventual celebration of LGBT rights.
On May 14, 1969, Canada decriminalized homosexual acts between consenting adults with the passage of the Criminal Law Amendment Act first introduced in December 1968. It received royal assent on June 27 – One day before the Stonewall Riots took place in New York.
Vancouver’s earliest Pride celebrations began when the Gay Alliance Toward Equality (GATE) organized a picnic and art exhibit in Ceperley Park. The August 1973 edition of GATE’s newspaper, Gay Tide, features coverage of “Gay Pride Week ’73.”, and was followed shortly thereafter by their first Pride parade in 1978.
We acknowledge and celebrate the struggles and accomplishments of our 2SLGBTQ+/QBIPOC communities and move forward with the intention of love, acceptance, and progress.
Resources:
A History of Canadian Pride
Vancouver Pride Society
A series of pictures taken by Fred McDarrah documenting the rallies shortly after the Stonewall riots
WE’VE BEEN HERE: Notable QBIPOC
