The Q Hall of Fame and Canadian LGBT History

Communities often build halls of fame to keep their stories from fading, and the Q Hall of Fame Canada was created with that purpose for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history. A news announcement about its public website and nomination process explains the thinking behind it.

What the project set out to do

The project was presented as a national home for recording and celebrating the varied past of LGBT communities in Canada. It was to be headquartered at Qmunity, a Vancouver community centre for LGBT people. Its founder believed the country needed a tribute to its own queer heroes, and organizers saw growing public curiosity about where the community came from, especially after a well-known film about an American gay rights leader prompted questions about Canadian roots.

The historical backdrop

Canada is often described as an international leader on human rights, and that is especially true of the rights of sexual minorities. Reforms in 1969 removed criminal penalties for private homosexual acts between adults, a reform introduced when Pierre Elliott Trudeau was justice minister, based on the idea that private adult conduct was not a matter for criminal law. National legal recognition of same-sex marriage followed in the middle of the following decade. The announcement noted that, only a few decades earlier, being gay could lead to jail.

How inductees are chosen

Nominations come directly from the public, and an independent selection committee reviews each one. Reviewers were described as blind to identity, weighing only the merit of a contribution and not who the nominee is. Inductees are people whose work affected many lives, across art, music, activism, politics and other fields. Organizers also wanted entries from across the country, not just big cities, which is why nominations were handled through a simple online process that anyone could reach.

Themes among early honourees

The first group of inductees was highly varied, and its organizers pointed to bravery as the shared quality, including quieter acts rather than only dramatic ones. The founder described the aim as preserving the life stories of people who helped advance human rights.

Recognition and ceremony

New inductees were to be recognized at an annual gala called the Q Ball. Taken together, the nomination process, the committee and the ceremony show an effort to turn community memory into something public, shared and permanent.