“Our queer history doesn’t just date back to the 60s when we started becoming more visible; it actually dates back centuries but our opportunities to start telling those stories have only begun recently,” said Ron Byers a queer historian. “Back in the 60s when I came out, it was illegal to be a gay man. I could have been thrown in jail and most of the young folks today don’t understand that,” said Byers.
How Edmonton’s first community archivist builds better records
Edmonton created the community archivist position in part because queer historian Ron Byers lobbied the city to do so. He wanted records donated by Michael Phair, Alberta’s first out, gay politician, to enter the city’s official vault. Yong said those records include thousands of photos and measure 13 kilometres in […]
Edmonton’s Pride Celebration History
The First 21 years 1980 – 2001 Edmonton’s first recognized Pride event was a Picnic In The Park thought to be held at Camp Harris, home of the 49th Battalion, The Loyal Edmonton Regiment Association. It was attended by about 75 people in 1980 to bring awareness to our community […]
Evolution of the Edmonton Queer History project hits the web and city streets
https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/evolution-of-the-edmonton-queer-history-project-hits-the-web-and-city-streets 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 […]
40 years later, Edmonton’s queer community looks back on the Pisces bathhouse raid
“They just did this raid in such a totally different manner from what they had done in previous raids in massage parlours, other common bawdy houses in the city, which were more straight-oriented,” Byers said. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/lgbtq2s-edmonton-pisces-raid-1.6047015