Pride Toronto’s successful Human Rights Panels continue this year during Pride Month, voicing and discussing issues that face LGBTQ+ communities around the globe. Also returning for the second year in a row is the Queer ICON Speaker Series, with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tony Kushner as the keynote speaker.

Mr. Kushner is a prolific writer, addressing themes and topics of significance to queer communities: HIV and AIDS, stigmatization, otherness, queer diaspora and human rights. He is best known for Angels In America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, which is being remounted in London this year.

CBC Toronto presents: An Evening with Tony Kushner will take place at the Isabel Bader Theatre (93 Charles Street West) on Monday June 12 at 7 pm. Moderated by CBC Toronto’s Chris Glover, the event includes a lecture and Q+A session. Tickets start at $20; VIP reception is $35.  

June 12 also marks the one year anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub massacre in Orlando. Pride Toronto and The 519 Community Centre will commemorate the memory of those lost to this senseless tragedy at Life – Loss – Light: We Remember Orlando, which includes the unveiling of an Orlando Memorial created by local artist janet romero-leiva. This free event will take place at Barbara Hall Park (519 Church Street) on June 12, starting at 8 pm.

On June 15, Until We Are All Free: The Global Struggle for LGBTQ Rights panel will feature Latoya Nugent, LGBTQ human rights advocate and activist in Jamaica and the co-founder of the Tambourine Army. This panel will highlight some of the grassroots organizing efforts taking place worldwide, focus on confronting oppression and violence, and seek real solutions to the daily threats faced by LGBTQ+ communities. This free event takes place at The 519 Ballroom (519 Church Street) on June 15 at 7 pm.

Pride Human Rights Conference: Transfeminism: Beyond Bodily Binaries toward Gender Fluidity is scheduled for June 21. This panel brings together key voices to discuss the emergence of transgender visibility, reversing hegemonic concepts of gender and moving towards gender and sexual fluidity. This discussion is moderated by Dr. Laura Mae Lindo, Director of Wilfrid Laurier University’s Diversity and Equity Office. Panelists include Professor Jack Halberstam, author of Gaga Feminism: Sex, Gender, and End of Normal; Professor Kathryn Bond Stockton, author of Beautiful Bottom, Beautiful Shame: Where “Black” Meets “Queer”; and Professor Anne Sauvagnargues, specialist in the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze. It is presented in partnership with the 10th International Deleuze Studies Conference and The 519. This FREE event takes place at The 519 Ballroom (519 Church Street) on June 21 at 7 pm.

Other Pride Month events

2017 Pride Guide

@PrideToronto on Twitter, Pride Toronto on Facebook and @pridetoronto on Instagram. #PrideTO

About the Author

Bryen Dunn is a freelance journalist with a focus on travel, lifestyle, entertainment, and hospitality. He has an extensive portfolio of celebrity interviews with musicians, actors, and other public personalities. He enjoys discovering delicious eats, tasting spirited treats, and being mesmerized by musical beats. Reach out - bryen@thebuzzmag.ca