Ken Popert

Ken Popert is the president and CEO of Pink Triangle Press, a Canadian non-profit organization which specializes in LGBT media including publishing, online interactive media, and television. An established queer liberation activist, he has been fighting for sexual liberation for almost 40 years. Popert lives in Toronto and is partnered with Brian Mossop, an activist in his own right for his 1993 case against the Government of Canada.^[1]

In addition to his role at PTP, Popert serves as a board director of OUTtv^[2] and the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives.

Activism

A member of the 1970s Gay Alliance Toward Equality, Popert was also an editor of The Body Politic. In late 1977, police raided TBP offices. Later, in January 1978, Popert was arrested alongside Gerald Hannon and Ed Jackson as a result of the published article "Men Loving Boys Loving Men". They were charged with using the mails for the purpose of transmitting indecent, immoral or scurrilous matter – essentially, they were being charged for printing Hannon’s controversial article in TBP.^[3] Their acquittal was an important decision in Canadian history for freedom of (sexual) expression and freedom of the press.

In the hours following the 1981 Toronto bathhouse raids, Popert was one of a dozen or so people who gathered at PTP’s offices – it was one of the few gay organizations at that time with offices and a phone – and called for a public protest. That protest turned into a virtual gay and lesbian uprising, a historic event that established the political power of these communities in Toronto. Later in the year, in a final clash between gay protesters and the police, Popert was struck down by a police car and many others were injured.

After The Body Politic folded in 1987, Popert reshaped the not-for-profit PTP, rescuing it from bankruptcy and building Xtra! into a viable business. From there, he successfully led PTP to become Canada’s largest gay media group. He has been key in keeping a sexual liberation mission at the core of the Press’s activities.

References

1. Smith, Miriam Catherine. Lesbian and Gay Rights in Canada: Social Movements and Equality-Seeking, 1971-1995. University of Toronto Press, 1999. ISBN 978-0802081971. p. 89.
2. Salerno, Rob (2008-10-27). "OutTV welcomes Switzer, Popert to board | Daily Xtra". Xtra.ca. Retrieved 2015-06-05.