Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.
LGBT activist John Banks has died at age 80, according to the Archives gaies du Québec.
Banks organized the first ever Pride Parade in Montreal in June 1979, which was attended by 52 people.
“John would be the first person to tell you that it was no easy task to put together a Pride parade in 1979,” said Richard Burnett, an arts and culture journalist and a good friend of Banks. “Getting municipal permits for a gay parade in 1979 was not something to be taken for granted.”
Banks and La Brigade Rose – his organizing group – staged the march under the guise of Saint-Jean-Baptiste celebrations so as not to attract negative attention.
The march grew to about 250 participants in 1980 before eventually
grew into the wide-ranging parade it is today.
Banks’ death comes five days before the end of Pride Month.
“We will all miss him. He changed Montreal. He was one hell of a human being,” Burnett said.
(Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
source link https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/he-changed-montreal-lgbtq-activist-john-banks-has-died-at-80-1.6940664
