Community leader, advocate and story teller living life one day at a time
“ I remember a time when there was no place in this town where I could go and come out as a gay man and have a beer with another gay man. »— A quote from Ron Byers, queer historian and founder of the Rainbow Story Hub
Check out the full article on CBC Radio-Canada (French)
(Use the Translate feature in Chrome or Edge for English)
https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1878377/histoire-queer-edmonton-bar-gai-fierte
From the audience, Ron Byers said the latest iteration of the project is particularly valuable to future generations who wouldn’t otherwise have access to the knowledge and experience of those who lived Edmonton’s queer history.
“Because it’s all up here,” he said, pointing to his head. “It opens up the history for our younger community … so the kids learn our history because it’s not taught anywhere else.”
A queer historian himself, Byers runs the Rainbow Story Hub, which collects accounts from members of the community — an effort that he sees as complementary to the queer history project’s encyclopedic, research-driven approach.
Edmonton Journal – March 8, 2022