French Artist Robert Filliou decided in 1963 that "One million years ago, art was born." So he, along with others, began celebrating art's birthday around January 17. His idea was that everyone should take a holiday on art's birthday and little by little art's impact would be understood and acknowledged.
"Close the schools and the factories!" Filliou declared. "Let them eat cake and make art! And the next year let it be two days of holiday, then three days, then four, five, six and so on, until every day is art's birthday, at which point we can all get on with life".
Here in the city the Edmonton Arts Council celebrates art's birthday. Last year they invited people to show up in their prom best to dive in fully clothed for a swimming pool party. Bands played, Mile Zero Dance performed, dudes dressed up as Vikings, cool projections animated the walls and hipster's wet packages were on display everywhere—happy birthday indeed.
For those with knowledge of the civil rights movement 1963 may strike a more poignant cord than the conception of art's birthday. On August 28 of that year a quarter of a million people participated on the March on Washington, ending up in front of Washington D.C.'s Lincoln Memorial to hear the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. deliver his powerful "I Have A Dream" speech. The day marked a turning point in the civil rights movement and has left for future generations a powerful image of people coming together for change.
A turning point for the gay rights movement in Canada came eight years later to the day, when on August 28, 1971 100 to 200 people participated in the "We Demand" demonstration on Parliament Hill. It was the first large-scale public homosexual demonstration and for a decade after it was the date that queer Canadians used to celebrate their pride.
Led by activists Charlie Hill, George Hislop, Pierre Masson and others, the gathering was an action to animate a letter prepared and submitted to the federal government by Toronto Gay Action. Also entitled "We Demand," the brief outlined 10 demands that the group had for the good of all "homosexual men and women" living in Canada. Included in the demands was "#9. All legal rights for homosexuals which currently exist for heterosexuals" and "#10. All public officials and law enforcement agents to employ the full force of their office to bring about changes in the negative attitudes and de facto expressions of discrimination and prejudice against homosexuals." "We Demand," also published a few days earlier in the Body Politic, was signed in name by the August 28 Gay Day Committee. Upon looking at the demands, (which you can view at the Canadian Gay and Lesbian Archives website clga.ca), you can see that as a community we have achieved many of the demands, but others remain outstanding.
When we look at the March on Washington and the "We Demand" actions together we see a line in time that ties the events together. While there are certainly differences between the goals, reasons and outcomes of the two actions, both events were messages from repressed members of the society to their governments that things had to change, and both are now viewed as important dates for the communities they represented. Both also used the significance of the capital as a staging ground for their message, and both provided a roadmap of action for future generation to refer to. Fundamentally both were also calls for more inclusive human rights.
Forty-six and 38 years later, respectively, the August 28 calendar coincidence of the two actions seems an opportune time to celebrate and exploit for ongoing gains in the fight for human rights for all. I am thinking that if art can have a birthday, most certainly Action for Human Rights can have a birthday—and can we think of a more perfect day than the already historically loaded day of August 28? Happy birthday, Action for Human Rights!
In a year that saw diversity come under attack through the passing of Bill 44 and the delisting of gender reassignment surgery, Alberta is a great location for the party! Picture it: birthday cake for everyone, people walking down Jasper Ave in a funny hats that say Happy Birthday, Action for Human Rights, a rousing game of pin the article on the UN Declaration of Human Rights, an exhausting round of musical privileges (so everyone gets a turn). In lieu of presents donations could be made to various local non-profits that work for human rights. The day could culminate with a multicultural, multilingual chorus of voices singing "Happy Birthday, Action for Human Rights" outside of Lindsay Blackett's office (we'll even save him a piece of cake).
So what are you doing on August 28?
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