Hank Wilson: Difference between revisions
please present actual COI concerns on the talkpage if re-adding what seems to be spurious tagging |
|||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| ⚫ | |||
{{COI}} |
|||
{{pp-move-indef}} |
{{pp-move-indef}} |
||
| ⚫ | |||
'''Henry |
'''Henry''' "'''Hank'''" '''Wilson''' (April 29, 1947, [[Sacramento, California]] – November 9, 2008, [[San Francisco, California]]) was a longtime San Francisco [[gay rights|LGBT rights activist]] and long term [[AIDS|AIDS activist and survivor]]. The ''[[Bay Area Reporter]]'' noted that for "over more than 30 years, he played a pivotal role in San Francisco's [[LGBT]] history."<ref name="VAHWD">{{cite web | url=http://www.ebar.com/obituaries/index.php?sec=ob&article=419 | title=Veteran activist Hank Wilson dies | work=[[The Bay Area Reporter]] | accessdate=16 November 2008 | dateformat=dmy | last=Highleyman | first=Liz | date=13 November 2008}}</ref> He grew up in Sacramento, and graduated with a B.A. in education from the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]] in 1971. |
||
==Gay Activism== |
==Gay Activism== |
||
Revision as of 05:16, 14 September 2009
Henry "Hank" Wilson (April 29, 1947, Sacramento, California – November 9, 2008, San Francisco, California) was a longtime San Francisco LGBT rights activist and long term AIDS activist and survivor. The Bay Area Reporter noted that for "over more than 30 years, he played a pivotal role in San Francisco's LGBT history."[1] He grew up in Sacramento, and graduated with a B.A. in education from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1971.
Gay Activism
Wilson founded or co-founded many organizations, including the Gay Teachers Coalition; the Butterfly Brigade, which became the Castro Street Safety Patrol; San Francisco Gay Democratic Club, which became the Harvey Milk Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Democratic Club; the Tenderloin AIDS Network, which became Tenderloin AIDS Resource Center; the PWA Coalition; Mobilization Against AIDS; a film festival that grew into the Frameline Film Festival; the AIDS Candlelight Vigil, which became the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial; the Committee to Monitor Poppers and ACT UP/Golden Gate, which became Survive AIDS.[1]
Political and artistic career
With Tom Ammiano and Ron Lanza, Wilson co-founded the Gay Teachers Coalition in 1975 and lobbied against discrimination for gay teachers in the San Francisco schools.[2] A leader in the 1977 anti-Briggs Initiative (No on 6) campaign, Wilson worked extensively with gay issues in the San Francisco Unified School District. He served on the Gay Youth Advocacy Council which founded Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center (LYRIC). He also served on the San Francisco Human Rights Commission's Youth and Education Committee and also launched with Ammiano a gay speakers bureau to educate San Francisco high school and middle school students about gay and lesbian issues. In 1976 he helped found the Butterfly Brigade, Castro Street Safety Patrol, and Carry a Whistle Defense Campaign.[3] Wilson was a founder of the Harvey Milk Gay Democratic Club.[3]
In 1978, he started a business partnership with fellow activist Ron Lanza, which led to leasing four Tenderloin Hotels. He operated the Ambassador Hotel in San Francisco's Tenderloin through 1996 and it became a model of harm reduction services housing PWAs. In 1982, Lanza and Wilson created the Valencia Rose Cafe, an influential gay cabaret and performance venue, which featured musicians and comedians such as Marga Gomez, Whoopi Goldberg, Lea DeLaria, and Ammiano.[4] With Glenda Hope and Dennis Conkin he founded Tenderloin AIDS Network that led to the Tenderloin AIDS Resource Center (TARC). Wilson managed the TARC drop-in center providing support to the homeless and PWAs. He was diagnosed with Kaposi's sarcoma in 1987. He continued his activism in AIDS and participating in many demonstrations.
In 1981 he founded the Committee to Monitor Poppers to educate the gay community about the hazards of using poppers. Wilson co-authored a book with John Lauritsen entitled Death Rush: Poppers and AIDS (New York: Pagan Press, 1986), in which they alleged a connection between poppers and HIV infection. He also served several terms on the SF HIV Prevention Planning Council and the UCSF Center for AIDS Prevention Studies (CAPS) Community Advisory Board.[citation needed]
On November 9, 2008, Wilson died of lung cancer at Ralph K. Davies Medical Center in San Francisco.
Bibliography
- Hank Wilson and John Lauritsen, Death Rush: Poppers and AIDS (New York: Pagan Press, 1986) ISBN 0-943742-05-6
- Benjamin H. Shepard, White Nights and Ascending Shadows: An Oral History of the San Francisco AIDS Epidemic (London and Washington, DC: Cassell, 1997) ISBN 978-0304701261
See also
References
- ^ a b Highleyman, Liz (13 November 2008). "Veteran activist Hank Wilson dies". The Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved 16 November 2008.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dateformat=ignored (help) - ^ Blount, Jackie (2006), Fit to Teach: Same-sex Desire, Gender, And School Work in the Twentieth Century, State University of New York Press, p. 157, ISBN 978-0791462683
- ^ a b Gordon, Rachel (2008-11-13), "Hank Wilson dies — gay liberation activist", San Francisco Chronicle, pp. B–4
- ^ McMillan, Dennis (2005-03-10), "Valencia Rose Revisited", San Francisco Bay Times
External links
- Obituary by Chris Bartlett
- Obituary at Beyond Chron by Paul Hogarth
- Article by Bob Ostertag in The Huffington Post
- Obituary by Joe Wright, MD
- "Tribute to Hank Wilson" at SF Bay Times
- San Francisco Bay Guardian obit
- Finding Aid to the Hank Wilson Papers at the Online Archive of California
{{subst:#if:Wilson, Hank|}} [[Category:{{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc:1947}}
|| UNKNOWN | MISSING = Year of birth missing {{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc:2008}}||LIVING=(living people)}}
| #default = 1947 births
}}]] {{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc:2008}}
|| LIVING = | MISSING = | UNKNOWN = | #default =
}}