Rad Pride Queer Liberation Panel 2025
RadPrideHalifax 2025 event
My name is JacqueDesLauriers? and I am part of a group of people working to come up with some rad/alt pride events to counter corporate pride and bring this time of year - and the outpouring of love and rage that comes with it - back to the community.
I am writing to you today as one of the events I would like to make sure happens is a talk (or two) on queer history, both in the 20th century local context and in the more classical history sense, all in an attempt to say "we have always been here". I am seeking panelists for an online talk in July - though not necessarily during the city's Pride week, depending on peoples' schedules and availability. I am hoping to find people to speak who can speak to queer-of-color, lesbian, and/or transgender experience in Halifax (or Nova Scotia more broadly) the 20th century. I am in contact with a member of the gay men's community already, and would like to showcase whatever diversity may exist in our little city's history.
2025-07-08: Pt 1: Local Queer History
Zoom event
This evening's panel will be primarily Q&A style. After a brief introduction, our panelists will give us a bit of an overview on their part in the queer activist scene, after which we will move on to some questions our moderators have prepared for the evening. Once those questions have been answered we will open the floor to attendees. There will be time at the end if speakers or attendees would like to exchange contact information.
Panel: VidaJackson?, RobertWright, RobinMetcalfe. Moderator: JaqueDesLauriers?
About 20 others dropped in and out during the 2-hour session.
Audio is here. (mp3, 135 min)
Table of Contents
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
- 0:00:00 Jaque: introduction
- 0:02:00 Self Introductions
- 0:02:01 Robert’s
- 0:02:42 Vida, mentions WomenNextDoor, Rainbow Camp
- 0:03:15 Robin
- Deeper Introductions: When and how were you active in the community? What are some of the groups you worked with and roles you played before the turn of the 21st century?
- 0:04:48 Robert
- 0:09:03 Vida
- 0:15:07 Robin
- What things going on now are most reminiscent of the past?
- 0:31:22 Robert A lot of the really notable black queer folk went to Montreal, Toronto to live their black, queer lives - with exceptions - the Lorne Izzards s of the world, and the Gloria Bordens. But, queer young black people are having the same problems integrating with their community as queer young white people had 30 years ago. And WalterBorden. But we can see that changing, we can see folk asserting themselves in both communities now. Black queer folk will be leaders of the black emancipation movement, we see the church being marginalized, and we can see pushback from elders.
- 0:41:44 Vida: Decimation of number of foster homes in the last few years = reduction of diversity. Change in motivations.
- 1:02:07 Robin: [transcribe in before] It’s easy to want to focus on one thing at a time. But we can’t just do one thing at a time. E.g. we need solutions that are global - soverign AND less dependent on fossil fuels. And there’s no party that has a vision for that.
- 1:20:23 Robert: It is possible that it’s impossible to make a “Big Tent Organization” — specicially those in the centre of the tent, to be able to make the tent big enough for those on the margins.
- 1:32:24 Tactics & Strategies
- 1:33:04 Vida: There is a major discrepancy in the way women’s work and mens’ work is recognized. For example, the WomenNextDoor have been doing concerts for the last 32 years, we’ve shown up at TakeBackTheNight, AIDS Vigils. We’ve just shown up for 32 years. Halifax Gay Men’s Choir ‘’’started’’’ because this event was coming. Our events are free. Their events are 25-50$. There’s a divide in the queer community in how we see work that’s done between the women’s community and the mens’ community. The Halifax Chamber of Commerce gave an award for bringing business to Halfiax… and they honoured the Halifax Gay Men’s Choir for bringing Unison to the city, and its leader got the award. Vida gives some insights why this injustice happens. This is an inequity that is not challenged in our community.
- 1:42:54 Robert: This is exactly what needs to be discussed at a Rad Pride conversation.
- Maps onto the idea that men get a lot more credit for things than women do - for doing things in the background, for supporting things.
- 1:45:00 Robin talking about getting paid to do things, and being remunerated for showing up and doing things in the community
- 1:55:00: Robert & Robin: privilege
2025-07-16: Pt 2:
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