Bernard Courte (June 22, 1949 - October 19, 1991) was an AIDS activist, teacher, writer and advocate for Franco-Canadian rights.

Early life

Courte was born and raised in Weir, Québec. Born into one of only two francophone families in town, Courte was fluent in both English and French. At the age of 17, he moved to Montréal to attend teacher's college. Around this time Courte came out through the city's bar scene. After being enrolled in teacher's college for a year, Courte decided to quit school. He later re-enrolled and earned his Bachelor and Master of Arts in Linguistics from the Université de Québec à Montréal and a degree in education from

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

Activism

Courte was present at the Truxx bar raid in 1977. The raid served as a galvanizing moment for him, and he joined the Association pour les Droits Gais du Québec and began contributing to their paper, ''Le Berdache'', soon afterwards. Courte also translated pieces published by

The Body Politic ''The Body Politic'' was a Canadian monthly magazine, which was published from 1971 to 1987. It was one of Canada's first significant gay publications, and played a prominent role in the development of the LGBT community in Canada. ''The Body Po ...

from English to French for ''Le Berdache'' readers. In 1982, Courte and other founding members established a new monthly called ''Sortie'', a French-language gay publication. He served as ''Sorties editor for 14 months. Courte was an early AIDS activist, as he wrote pieces in ''Sortie'' and ''RG'' and appeared on television and radio to discuss the disease. He was involved with the Comité Sida Aide Montréal and served as a spokesperson for an AIDS walk-a-thon. After moving to Toronto in 1986, Courte continued contributing to ''Sortie'' as their Toronto correspondent, and had his own column ''La Chronique Courte''. Once ''Sortie'' folded, he began writing for ''

Xtra! ''Xtra Magazine'' (formerly ''DailyXtra'' and ''Xtra!'') is an LGBTQ-focused digital publication and former print newspaper published by Pink Triangle Press in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The publication is a continuation of the company's former p ...

''. His activism shifted following his move to Toronto, to include advocacy for the rights of Franco-Ontarians and their need for linguistically and culturally relevant services and resources. He began volunteering at the AIDS Committee of Toronto and AIDS Action Now!, preparing and translating resource material and flyers from english to french. Courte established AIDS Action Now!'s Équipe Francophone in 1988 and launched ''Traitement Sida'', the French version of the AIDS Action Now!'s ''Treatment Update'' newsletter. He also volunteered for AIDS Action Now!'s Media Committee. Courte established a francophone AIDS support group, organized safer sex workshops and was involved with nine AIDS conferences. He also worked on translation projects for various gay and lesbian groups in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Career

In 1976, Courte began teaching English as a second language at the Cégep Saint Jean sur Richelieu. In 1986, Courte relocated to Toronto after his partner Keith Russell was transferred to the city for work. Courte got a job with the

Ontario Institute for Studies in Education The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (OISE/UT) is Canada's only all-graduate institute of teaching, learning and research. It is located at 252 Bloor Street West on the university's St. George campus in ...

. He frequently contributed to educational and francophone journals, including ''Orbit'',

OISE Oise ( ; ; ) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,419 in 2019.< ...

’s quarterly magazine, and L’Express de Toronto—Toronto's French-language weekly paper.

Death

Courte died on October 19, 1991, from AIDS-related complications.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Courte, Bernard 1949 births 1991 deaths Canadian HIV/AIDS activists AIDS-related deaths in Canada Canadian LGBTQ journalists Canadian LGBTQ rights activists 20th-century Canadian LGBTQ people 20th-century Canadian journalists 20th-century Canadian male writers