Ken Popert

Last updated

Ken Popert has been involved with Pink Triangle Press (PTP) since 1973 when he began contributing to The Body Politic . [1] In 1986 he was appointed interim publisher of PTP, and he served as the executive director until April 3, 2017, when he was succeeded by David Walberg. [1] [2] [3] An established queer liberation activist, Popert has been fighting for sexual liberation for almost 40 years. [4] Popert lives in Toronto and is partnered with Brian Mossop, an activist in his own right for his 1993 case against the Government of Canada. [5] In addition to his role at PTP, Popert serves as a board director of OUTtv [6] and The ArQuives: Canada's LGBTQ2+ Archives.

Activism

A member of the 1970s Gay Alliance Toward Equality, Popert was also an editor of The Body Politic. In late 1977, police raided TBP offices. Later, in January 1978, Popert was arrested alongside Gerald Hannon and Ed Jackson as a result of the published article "Men Loving Boys Loving Men". [7] They were charged with using the mails for the purpose of transmitting indecent, immoral or scurrilous matter. [4] Their acquittal was an important decision in Canadian history for freedom of (sexual) expression and freedom of the press.

In the hours following the 1981 Toronto bathhouse raids, Popert was part of a group of people who gathered at PTP's offices to organize a protest for February 6, 1981. [8] That protest turned into a historic event that established the political power of Lesbian and Gay communities in Toronto. Later in the year on June 20, a demonstration and march was organized by the Right to Privacy Committee (RTPC) to further protest the Bathhouse Raids. After the demonstration the protesters, who numbered about 1,000, were attacked at Church and Charles streets by a group of anti-gay individuals. The event became known as "The Battle of Church Street." Police eventually showed up and Popert was struck by a police car and many others were injured, including Rev. Brent Hawkes who was punched by a police officer. Both Popert and Hawkes were unsuccessful in pressing charges against the police. [8]

After The Body Politic folded in 1987, Popert reshaped the not-for-profit PTP, helping prevent its bankruptcy and building Xtra! into a viable business. [4] From there, he led PTP to become Canada's largest gay media group.

Related Research Articles

Pink Triangle Press is an independent, Canadian media organization specializing in LGBTQ2S+ journalism, television and online interactive media. Founded in 1971, Pink Triangle Press is one of the longest-publishing LGBTQ2S+ media groups in the world. Today, Pink Triangle Press publishes Xtra, an online magazine and community platform covering LGBTQ2S+ culture, politics and health. As a mission-guided organization with no shareholders, profits earned by the business are reinvested to support its mission: daring together to set love free.

Xtra Magazine is an LGBTQ-focused digital publication and former print newspaper published by Pink Triangle Press in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The publication is a continuation of the company's former print titles Xtra!, Xtra Ottawa, and Xtra Vancouver, which were all discontinued in 2015.

Xtra Vancouver, formerly Xtra! West, was a gay bi-weekly newspaper, published by Pink Triangle Press in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 1981.

<i>fab</i> (magazine) Canadian gay magazine

fab was a Canadian gay magazine that published biweekly issues in Toronto, Ontario from 1994 to 2013. It published alternate weeks to the city's other biweekly gay publication, Xtra! The publication's official spelling uses a lower-case F: fab.

Operation Soap was a raid by the Metropolitan Toronto Police against four gay bathhouses in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which took place on February 5, 1981. Nearly three hundred men were arrested, the largest mass arrest in Canada since the 1970 October crisis, before the record was broken during the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs in Edmonton, Alberta.

<i>The Body Politic</i> Early LGBT magazine in Canada (1971–1987)

The Body Politic was a Canadian monthly magazine, which was published from 1971 to 1987. It was one of Canada's first significant gay publications, and played a prominent role in the development of the LGBT community in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Hislop</span> Canadian politician and activist

George Hislop was one of Canada's most influential gay activists. He was one of the earliest openly gay candidates for political office in Canada, and was a key figure in the early development of Toronto's gay community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The ArQuives</span> Canadian organization that preserves historical LGBT materials

The ArQuives: Canada's LGBTQ2+ Archives, formerly known as the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives, is a Canadian non-profit organization, founded in 1973 as the Canadian Gay Liberation Movement Archives. The ArQuives acquires, preserves, and provides public access to material and information by and about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and two-spirit communities primarily in Canada.

The Gay Alliance Toward Equality, or GATE, was one of the first Canadian gay liberation groups.

This is a timeline of notable events in the history of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in Canada. For a broad overview of LGBT history in Canada see LGBT history in Canada.

Although same-sex sexual activity was illegal in Canada up to 1969, gay and lesbian themes appear in Canadian literature throughout the 20th century. Canada is now regarded as one of the most advanced countries in legal recognition of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights.

This article gives a broad overview of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) history in Canada. LGBT activity was considered a crime from the colonial period in Canada until 1969, when Bill C-150 was passed into law. However, there is still discrimination despite anti-discrimination law. For a more detailed listing of individual incidents in Canadian LGBT history, see also Timeline of LGBT history in Canada.

<i>Beyond Gay: The Politics of Pride</i> 2009 Canadian film

Beyond Gay: The Politics of Pride is a 2009 documentary directed by Bob Christie, where he examines relevance of LGBT pride celebrations internationally, against the backdrop of opposition to such events in a number of countries. The documentary tries to portray pride as more than just a parade, but rather an important step on the road to equality and fight against homophobia and discrimination. It was produced with Transmission in association with Border2Border Entertainment and Nomadic Pictures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerald Hannon</span> Canadian journalist (1944-2022)

Gerald Hannon was a Canadian journalist whose work appeared in major Canadian magazines and newspapers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Maloney (politician)</span> Canadian lawyer, businessman, activist and former politician

Peter Maloney is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, activist and former politician, most noted as one of the first Canadian political figures ever to come out as gay and as a prominent builder of Toronto's LGBT community in the 1970s and 1980s.

The Right to Privacy Committee (RTPC) was a Canadian organization located in Toronto, and was one of the city's largest and most active advocacy groups during the 1980s, a time of strained police-minority relations. The group focused on the Toronto Police Service's harassment of gays and infringement of privacy rights, and challenged police authority to search gay premises and seize materials. At the time of the 1981 bathhouse raids, RTPC was Canada's largest gay rights group with a mailing and volunteer list of 1,200 names. People associated with the RTPC include Michael Laking, Rev. Brent Hawkes, John Alan Lee, Dennis Findlay, Tom Warner, and George W. Smith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT culture in Vancouver</span>

Vancouver's LGBT community is centered on Davie Village. Historically, LGBT people have also gathered in the Chinatown and Gastown neighborhoods. Former establishments include Dino's Turkish Baths, a gay bathhouse on Hastings, and the city's first drag bar, BJ's, on Pender Street.

The Pussy Palace Raid occurred on September 14, 2000, when Toronto police raided a lesbian bathhouse known as the "Pussy Palace" during the "2000 Pussies" event. Two undercover female police officers attended and investigated the event prior to the raid. Five plainclothes male police officers then entered and searched the club, including private rooms. There were around 350 women in attendance at the time, many of whom were nude or semi-clad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">We Demand Rally</span> 1971 gay rights demonstration in Canada

The We Demand Rally was the first large scale gay rights demonstration in Canada. The rally occurred on August 28, 1971 in Ottawa, and was organized by the gay rights activist groups Toronto Gay Action (TGA) and Community Homophile Association of Toronto (CHAT). There was a parallel rally in Vancouver that was organized in solidarity with the rally by the Vancouver group Gay Alliance Toward Equality (GATE). The rally plays an important part in the history of queer equity-seeking and gay rights in Canada, as well as the history of feminism in Canada, and has had a lasting legacy in Canadian gay rights activism.

References

  1. 1 2 Mann, Arshy (May 4, 2016). "Ken Popert to step down as executive director of Pink Triangle Press". Daily Xtra. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Company Overview of Pink Triangle Press". Bloomberg. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Pink Triangle Press names David Walberg Executive Director". CNW. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 "Ken Popert 1947-". CLGA. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  5. ↑ Smith, Miriam Catherine. Lesbian and Gay Rights in Canada: Social Movements and Equality-Seeking, 1971-1995. University of Toronto Press, 1999. ISBN   978-0802081971. p. 89.
  6. ↑ Salerno, Rob (2008-10-27). "OutTV welcomes Switzer, Popert to board | Daily Xtra". Xtra.ca. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
  7. ↑ Warner, Tom (2002). Never Going Back. University of Toronto Press.
  8. 1 2 McLeod, Donald W. (2014). Lesbian and Gay Liberation in Canada: A Selected Chronology, 1976-1981. Homewood Books.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.