Joe Average is an internationally renown artist who donates his Bee Logo for this LIMITED EDITION and LIMITED QUANTITY Legacy Fundraiser. $35 from each Joe Average Hoody sold goes to support the 9 Imperial Courts of Canada. Add $20 and he will personally autograph your Hoody! 🥰. #joeonthego
ted Northe’s family gives their blessing to use his “I Am A Human Being” placard for this LIMITED EDITION and LIMITED QUANTITY Legacy Fundraiser. ted founded the Canadian Courts and was a LGBTQ Rights Activist since 1958. $15 from each ted northe T-shirt goes to support the 9 Imperial Courts of Canada. 🥰. #iamahumanbeing1958
During the Cold War, the Canadian military and RCMP worked assiduously to root out from their ranks, and from higher levels of the civil service, anyone thought to be homosexual or otherwise sexually “deviant.” Security officials exposed subjects to homo-erotic images and used a device that measured pupil dilation to determine whether the subject was aroused. The so-called fruit machine was bad science, and it damaged (and destroyed) careers, as did Cold War-era interrogations of suspected security risks associated with homosexual orientation. The distinguished, intellectually gifted, and unmarried Canadian diplomat Herbert Norman (1909-57) was grilled in the early 1950s regarding suspicions that he was gay; his subsequent suicide is thought by some to have been connected with his sexual orientation and fear of exposure.
The City of Vancouver officially proclaimed Wednesday, September 13, 2023 to be “ted northe Day” in the City of Vancouver!!!
Mr. ted northe (always written in lower case letters) was a drag queen and gay civil right activist. He advocated for the decriminalization of homosexuality in Canada in the 1950s and 1960s. Of note, this is 11 years before the much-celebrated Stonewall Riots in America. On August 18, 1958, he, famously, organized one of the first protests against queer discrimination. In the 1950’s, it was illegal for a person to present themselves in public, wearing articles of clothing not assigned to their gender. Meaning, men could not wear women’s clothing and vice versa. ted northe brought together 5 protesters, all presenting themselves in “drag”, wearing women’s articles of clothing, on the steps of the Vancouver Court House, now the Vancouver Art Gallery. They bore simple placards that read “I am a Human Being” and cried for equality under the law. It was not long before they were chased from the steps by the Police, but on that day, Mr. Northe took up the mantle of activist, on that we wore fro the rest of his life. Soon after his courthouse appearance, the young Mr. North began picketing pars and would not admit gay people.
During the 60’s he spearheaded a national letter-writing campaign to MPs, calling for the removal of homosexuality from the Criminal Code. Supported by then-Justice Minister Pierre Trudeau, bill C-150 was passed on May 14, 1969, decriminalizing homosexuality. After declaring “There’s no place for state in the bedrooms of the nation, Justice Minister Trudeau, called ted northe personally, with the news, addressing Mr. North as “Your majesty” in recognition of Mr. North’s official drag-queen status as Empress of Canada.
In 1964, Mr. northe attended a drag queen coronation in Portland, Oregon. He was inspired by by what he saw and brought that work to Vancouver and in 1967 became the Empress of Canada. A part of the International Court System organization, Vancouver is now respected as The Mother Court of Canada. Mr. northe perfected his powerful ability to raise funds and awareness across Canada, and as a result, many current ICS Chapters and LGBTQ organizations were born from his support and energy. One of his many lasting legacies is the Dogwood Monarchist Society, which he founded in 1971. The purpose of the DMS was, and is still, to elect 2 ambassadors to represent queer Vancouver and all of BC, and fundraise for local non-profits providing services related to AIDS/HIV, queer, POC and women’s issues. These Ambassadors, known as Monarchs, hold the titles of Emperor, Empress or Emprex. Since 1971, inspired by ted northe, there have been over 12 Chapters that have been created, with 10 still remaining. By joining with Mr. Sarria, both Court Systems became the International Court System, later adding Mexico, and now count over 70 Chapters across North America.
Mr. northe also created the first Community Christmas Dinner, and the first gay community disaster relief fund in Vancouver. He collaborated with business owners to develop the first Gay Businessmen’s Guild and worked with the lesbian community to host the first openly gay Breast Cancer fundraiser. Mr. northe also sponsored the first gay sports leagues (Bowling, West End Softball), the first Vancouver Pride Parade and supported the creation of the Greater Vancouver Native Culture Society for Two-spirited people. Finally, Mr. northe hosted the first three boat cruises to raise money for the BC Children’s Hospital and the Easter Seals campaign.
Mr. northe has been honoured with the Canadian Red Cross Humanitarian and Distinguished Citizen Award; British Columbia Cancer Society Citizen’s Award for Fundraising; the Governor General’s Special Service Medal for Distinguished Citizen and Humanitarian; Certificate of Special USA Congressional Recognition; the Saskatchewan Canadian Award; Rita Rhinestone Pegasus Humanitarian Award; 1st recipient of the Jose’ Honors Award; Key to San Francisco; Key to Portland; Citizenship Award (Bay Area Reporter); Honorary Empress of Ensenada Mexico and many others. In 2013 he was granted the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Award in recognition of his contribution to Canada.
Mr. northe passed away in 2014 after dedication 60 years of his life to the advancement of human rights.
