Charlie Drinkwater and Doug Wilson, Fifth Annual National Gay Conference ("Towards A Gay Community"), Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, July 1, 1977. Photo by Charlie Dobie. Doug Wilson (October 11, 1950 - September 26, 1992) was among the founding parents of Canada's modern gay liberation movement. In 1975, the Dean of the College of Education of the University of Saskatchewan refused to allow Wilson, a graduate education student, to supervise practice teachers because of Wilson's position as Vice-President of the Saskatoon Gay Community Centre; Wilson fought the decision and lost. From there, Wilson spent the rest of his life deeply involved in queer activism, and, in 1988, he became the first openly gay candidate to be nominated by a major political party to stand for Parliament. During that campaign, Wilson was diagnosed with AIDS, and the focus of his activism shifted; he helped found AIDS Action Now! and the Canadian Network of Organizations for People Living With AIDS. Doug Wilson died of AIDS-related pneumonia on September 24, 1992; he was forty-two. #lgbthistory #lgbtherstory #lgbttheirstory #lgbtpride #charliedrinkwater #dougwilson #foundingparents #gayboys #springgaiety #sunday #mood (at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan)
