Human rights struggles are continual, an ongoing process. In Canada, a certain social issue is continuing to improve and has improved greatly in the past 70 years.
Nowadays, Canadian society is much more accepting of the LGBTQ community than it has ever been. But not long ago, things were very different.
In a moving short documentary film, titled Gross Indecency: The Everett Klippert Story, historian Kevin Allen of Fernie, B.C. dives into the history of a mysterious man who played a pivotal role in LGBTQ history.
Everett Klippert was a Calgary bus driver and he was also the last Canadian to be jailed for homosexuality.
Back in the 1950s and 60s, the charge given to those found guilty of homosexuality was gross indecency. If you were found guilty of this, often your charge, name, address and occupation would be printed in the local paper.
B次元官网网址淔ormer Bus Driver Jailed Four Years For IndecencyB次元官网网址� read the title of the article in the March 23, 1960 edition of the Albertan. Despite moving from Calgary to the Northwest Territories, Klippert was labeled a menace to society.
What follows in the film is more discovery by Allen about who Klippert was, the struggles he endured and the lessons that his story teaches society, even today.
Before this short documentary was made, Allen, a historian, had been researching Klippert for some time. He was drawn to the fact that this man had been almost forgotten by society.
In 2016, after reading some of AllenB次元官网网址檚 posts and findings online, Globe and Mail reporter John Ibbitson met Allen in Calgary to discuss the story.
B次元官网网址淗e gave the story national attention and asked the prime minister to apologize to the community as a result, and thatB次元官网网址檚 when we got the apology last year, in November,B次元官网网址� said Allen.
The historian says he believes KlippertB次元官网网址檚 story had a role to play in making that happen. He also says he wants KlippertB次元官网网址檚 story to be remembered in Canadian history.
B次元官网网址淚njustice and human rights struggles can teach us a lot about our humanity,B次元官网网址� said Allen.
Klippert died in 1996.
Gross Indecency: The Everett Klippert Story, directed by Laura OB次元官网网址橤rady and produced in collaboration with TelusB次元官网网址檚 STORYHIVE, was released in July and is now available online. It made its theatrical debut on Saturday at the Calgary International Film Festival.
editor@thefreepress.ca
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