Media Releases

Ontario’s first lesbian and gay rights group to be honoured

October 26, 2011

TORONTO, ON – A sig­nif­i­cant moment in Cana­di­an queer his­to­ry will be com­mem­o­rat­ed next week with the unveil­ing of a plaque mark­ing the 1969 for­ma­tion of the Uni­ver­si­ty of Toron­to Homophile Asso­ci­a­tion. The group was Ontario’s first to ral­ly around les­bian and gay rights, and one of the first in Cana­da to be shaped by sex­u­al lib­er­a­tion pol­i­tics.

Next Wednes­day, Novem­ber 2 at 5 p.m. at the East Hall in Uni­ver­si­ty Col­lege, offi­cials from U of T, the Ontario Her­itage Trust (OHT) and all three lev­els of gov­ern­ment will hon­our the group’s his­tor­i­cal con­tri­bu­tions by unveil­ing the province’s first-ever LGBT-relat­ed plaque. The occa­sion marks 42 years since the U of T Homophile Asso­ci­a­tion held their first meet­ing at Uni­ver­si­ty Col­lege.

U of T Pres­i­dent David Nay­lor, Bren­da Coss­man, direc­tor of U of T’s Bon­ham Cen­tre for Sex­u­al Diver­si­ty Stud­ies and U of T stu­dent Nik­ki Thomas (rep­re­sent­ing LGBTOUT) will speak at the cer­e­mo­ny.

Media and mem­bers of the pub­lic are invit­ed to attend the cer­e­mo­ny, spon­sored by the Bon­ham Cen­tre and the OHT.

EVENT DETAILS:

WHAT: Cer­e­mo­ny and plaque unveil­ing to com­mem­o­rate the estab­lish­ment of the Uni­ver­si­ty of Toron­to Homophile Asso­ci­a­tion in 1969.

WHEN: Wednes­day Novem­ber 2 at 5 p.m.

WHERE: East Hall at Uni­ver­si­ty Col­lege, 15 King’s Col­lege Cir­cle, Uni­ver­si­ty of Toron­to.

For more infor­ma­tion, please con­tact:

Bren­da Coss­man
Direc­tor, Bon­ham Cen­tre for Sex­u­al Diver­si­ty Stud­ies
416–978-8103
b.cossman@utoronto.ca

David Ray­side
Pro­fes­sor, Sex­u­al Diver­si­ty Stud­ies pro­gram
416–978-8087
david.rayside@utoronto.ca