Although there have not been weekly gay history posts lately, we have been diligently working on the history project behind the scenes. Kevin Allen has been going through the first edit of his history book manuscript, incorporating suggestions and edits to make the book a better read.
Last week, we were honoured by CommunityWise and given the 2017 Heritage Award at their Annual General Meeting. The award reads that “the Gay History Project continues to enrich and inform our present society and illuminates vital chapters of history in this shared place.” CommunityWise, formally known as The Old Y , is widely recognized as the historical hub of Calgary’s gay community dating back to the 70s.
Erin, Jian, Thulasy & Phil from the CommunityWise Staff Collective present Kevin with the 2017 Heritage Award
We are also grateful to our colleague, Dr. Valerie Korinek, who is a professor of Modern Canadian History at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. She recently wrote a Notches blog piece on the prairie publication, “After Stonewall” exploring the politics and milieu of gay liberation in the late 70s. You can read it: here. Calgary’s Gay Information Resources Calgary (GIRC) was part of the liberation discourse of its day that Dr. Korinek writes about. Furthermore, the problematic National Gay Rights Coalition (NGRC) which is referenced in the article, interestingly sounded its death knell in Calgary when conference delegates in 1980 voted to disband the organization, seen as having outlived its usefulness.
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Calgary Gay History 