Queering Activist Histories and Educational Futures in Fredericton, New Brunswick

• In Event: Queer (Re)Storying of Dreams and Histories

Abstract

The radical history of queer organizing in North America has been obscured by the depoliticization of Pride festivals. This reality mirrors the ongoing erasure of gender and sexual diversity in social, political, and educational contexts. This article works to reclaim and make visible this history as an act of education that informs conscientização (Freire, 1970), collective action, and transformation. Guided by the experiences of four local activists, the author charts a macro historiography of the queer liberation movement to examine the dearth of resources and representation within a small, Canadian province. Isolating discourses of homonormativity and homonationalism, the author advocates for a critical intervention in this history to address systemic erasure within educational contexts.

Author

• Amelia Thorpe, University of New Brunswick