Canada's first LGBTQ2 Heritage Minute honours Jim Egan
June 13, 2018 1:46 PM Subscribe
Falling in love in 1948 ... and still not recognized as a couple five decades later [YT]. Jim Egan, the pioneering gay rights activist, and his partner Jack Nesbit are recognized in the first LGBTQ2 Heritage Minute.
Egan was a gay rights activist from 1949-1964 at a time when homosexuality was still illegal, even publishing under his own name. He eventually left activism at the request of his partner; they were together for 52 years before his death in 2000.
After they were denied spousal benefits from the Old Age security program, Egan and Nesbit appealed. Their appeal went to the Supreme Court; they lost the case for benefits but won a symbolic victory: in 1995, the case established that sexual orientation constitutes a prohibited basis of discrimination under Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Egan is also the subject of the 1996 documentary, Jim Loves Jack (excerpt).
And they were the grand marshals for the 1995 Toronto Pride Parade, which was the first one I ever attended. I didn't know who they were then - but I do now.
("Gay Rights" has been consciously used as the term for activism in the 1960s, as at the time it was understood to include all LBTQ+ people; Brenda Howard, founder of the New York Area Bisexual Network, was also a member of the Gay Liberation Front).
Egan was a gay rights activist from 1949-1964 at a time when homosexuality was still illegal, even publishing under his own name. He eventually left activism at the request of his partner; they were together for 52 years before his death in 2000.
After they were denied spousal benefits from the Old Age security program, Egan and Nesbit appealed. Their appeal went to the Supreme Court; they lost the case for benefits but won a symbolic victory: in 1995, the case established that sexual orientation constitutes a prohibited basis of discrimination under Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Egan is also the subject of the 1996 documentary, Jim Loves Jack (excerpt).
And they were the grand marshals for the 1995 Toronto Pride Parade, which was the first one I ever attended. I didn't know who they were then - but I do now.
("Gay Rights" has been consciously used as the term for activism in the 1960s, as at the time it was understood to include all LBTQ+ people; Brenda Howard, founder of the New York Area Bisexual Network, was also a member of the Gay Liberation Front).
This is fantastic! I use open-source social justice materials to teach adult literacy, and one of the stories is about Jim Egan and Jack Nesbit. I am thrilled to have yet another Heritage Minute to use with this story in my classroom.
(One of the other stories in the reader is about Viola Desmond, who also received a Heritage Minute and now is on the new $10 bill--previously on Metafilter.)
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 5:40 PM on June 13, 2018
(One of the other stories in the reader is about Viola Desmond, who also received a Heritage Minute and now is on the new $10 bill--previously on Metafilter.)
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 5:40 PM on June 13, 2018
That sounds like KD Lang doing the voiceover at the end.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 6:16 PM on June 13, 2018
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 6:16 PM on June 13, 2018
This was actually really well done. Some of the heritage minutes can be unintentionally hokey (we still say DR. PENFIELD I SMELL BURNT TOAST around here) or even factually incorrect. This one was good, and I got a little misty-eyed.
posted by chococat at 6:31 PM on June 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by chococat at 6:31 PM on June 13, 2018 [1 favorite]
If anyone is interested, Egan's book (compiled by Donald McLeod) Challenging the Conspiracy of Silence: My Life as a Canadian Gay Activist is is available as a full-text pdf here via the University of Toronto Library.
Also, the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives has a whole bunch of newspaper clippings of letters and articles written by Egan as far back as 1950 or so.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:35 PM on June 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
Also, the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives has a whole bunch of newspaper clippings of letters and articles written by Egan as far back as 1950 or so.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:35 PM on June 13, 2018 [5 favorites]
From my hometown! (Courtenay, BC)
Recently back for a visit I went hiking with my parents and was delighted to find a trail dedicated to Jim Eagan with a big sign. :)
posted by chapps at 12:37 AM on June 14, 2018
Recently back for a visit I went hiking with my parents and was delighted to find a trail dedicated to Jim Eagan with a big sign. :)
posted by chapps at 12:37 AM on June 14, 2018
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