Stolen kiss helps uncover story of Edmonton's forgotten LGBTQ pioneer
'He was there at some really important moments in the civil rights struggle'
Pictured in black and white, two men sit cheek-to-cheek and share a kiss inside the hushed confines of a 1953 photo booth.
The twin photos, once dangerous mementos of a concealed romance, have become symbols of the brave life of Joseph John Belanger, a quiet vanguard of the early LGBTQ movement.
"He was an activist," said Sara Burningham, producer of Making Gay History, a podcast about important figures in North American LGBTQ history.
"He was not a central activist but he was there at some really important moments in the civil rights struggle.
"But what's become almost as important about him is that photograph."
He lived as an openly gay man at a time when the simple act of sharing a kiss could get you thrown in jail, said Burningham, who has been poring through archival records and archival interviews documenting Belanger's life.
'Defiance and rebellion'
The photograph of Belanger's stolen kiss at the Playland amusement park in Vancouver, B.C. has become a cherished part of LGBTQ history, she said.
The photograph was rediscovered in 2014 and has since been shared around the world.
"It's become so iconic and it captures this defiance and rebellion," Burningham said in an interview with CBC Radio's Edmonton AM. "They are in the safety of the photo booth but two men kissing in that moment was not safe at all.
"People draw such hope from it."
Belanger served in the Royal Canadian Air Force from 1942 to 1944. He was awarded a Defence Medal, Canadian Voluntary Service Medal, and War Medal for his service.
He worked odd jobs in across the West until 1954 when he joined the United States Air Force.
He served for five years, earning numerous commendations including the Aviation Badge, Good Conduct Medal and Outstanding Airman of the 26th Air Refueling Squadron.
Belanger survived, spending three days adrift in a dinghy in the Atlantic Ocean, but his companion, Gordon, died.
So there is some openness, but obviously still a very, very stifling closet that he was forced to live in.- Sara Burningham, researcher
"J.J. was out to his family, they were out to Gordie's family but of course not to the wider world," said Burningham.
"He couldn't serve openly, he couldn't be open in terms of his public life, therefore losing someone in that way becomes a very solitary grieving process, because of course the military doesn't recognize your loss and you can't grieve publicly.
"So there is some openness, but obviously still a very, very stifling closet that he was forced to live in."
'It's part of history'
Belanger was an early member of the Mattachine Society, one of the first gay advocacy groups ever formed in North America.
In the 1980s he was politically involved with the San Francisco chapter of the Stonewall Gay Democratic Club, volunteered for Project Inform and was a member of the Quarantine Fighter's Group. Belanger was also a devoted collector of LGBT history, and carefully documented his own life.
Belanger died on Jan. 26, 1993, two days after his 70th birthday.
His personal collection is now part of the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, the largest collection of LGBTQ memorabilia in the world.
As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivers a historic apology to the LGBTQ community, it's more important than ever to illuminate the often forgotten figures in LGBTQ history, said Burningham.
"You can't know where you're going if you don't know where you've been," she said.
"For any of us, connecting to our past is a key to understanding our present and figuring out our future.
"It's part of history."
Listen to Edmonton AM with host Mark Connolly, weekday mornings at CBC Radio One, 93.9 FM in Edmonton. Follow the morning crew on Twitter @EdmAMCBC.
With files from Ariel Fournier