For the footballer, see Brian Williamson (footballer).
Jamaican gay rights activist (1945–2004)
Brian Williamson
Williamson in an undated photograph
Born
Brian Bernard Ribton Williamson
(1945-09-04)4 September 1945
Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica
Died
9 June 2004(2004-06-09) (aged 58)
Kingston, Jamaica
Cause of death
Murder by stabbing (possible homophobic hate crime)
Occupation
LGBT rights activist
Brian Williamson (4 September 1945 – 9 June 2004) was a Jamaican gay rights activist who co-founded the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG). He was known for being one of the earliest openly gay men in Jamaican society and one of its best known gay rights activists.
Born to an upper-middle-class family in Saint Ann Parish, Williamson initially considered a life in the Roman Catholic clergy before deciding to devote himself to the cause of gay rights in Jamaica. In the 1990s, he purchased an apartment building in the New Kingston area of Kingston, in which he established a gay nightclub, which remained open for two years despite opposition from police. In 1998, he co-founded J-FLAG with other lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights activists, soon becoming the public face of the organisation. As J-FLAG's representative, he argued in favour of LGBT rights during appearances on Jamaican television and radio programs. This attracted great hostility within Jamaica – a country with particularly high rates of anti-gay prejudice – with J-FLAG members receiving death threats and Williamson surviving a knife attack. For a time he left Jamaica, living in Canada and England for several years, before returning to Kingston in 2002.
In June 2004, Williamson was murdered in his apartment by an acquaintance, Dwight Hayden, whom he had been aiding with financial handouts. Police believed that Hayden's motive was robbery, although J-FLAG also suggested that homophobia may have played a part in the killing. Hayden was subsequently sentenced to life in prison. Upon learning of the murder, a crowd assembled in New Kingston to celebrate Williamson's death, chanting homophobic slogans and lyrics. Conversely, the Jamaican LGBT community held a secret memorial for him, while protests against the killing were held by LGBT rights groups in the United Kingdom.
BrianWilliamson (4 September 1945 – 9 June 2004) was a Jamaican gay rights activist who co-founded the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays...
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All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG), and Jamaica's leading gay-rights activist, BrianWilliamson, was stabbed to death in his home. Police ruled that the murder was...
(14 September 2011). "Dr. Williamson Murray". Strategic Studies Institute. Retrieved 19 June 2012. Murphy, Brian. "Williamson Murray, military historian...
Bennion, Jay Clarke, Jimmy Hansen, Viv Heath, Mychailo Kazybrid and BrianWilliamson. It replaced George and Lynne. A graphic novel compiling all 311 daily...
"Nightmare on Ses*me Street " (with BrianWilliamson, in #785, 1992) "A Fete Worse Than Death" (with BrianWilliamson, in #786, 1992) "The Night Santa Signed...
A Christmas Treasury) "The Man in the Ion Mask" by Dan Abnett and BrianWilliamson (Doctor Who Magazine Winter Special 1991) "Target Practice" by Gareth...
(with Colin MacNeil, in #736, 1991) "Teddy Bear's Firefight" (with BrianWilliamson, in #737, 1991) "Garbage Disposal" (with John Burns, in #738, 1991)...
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in Doctor Who Magazine #212–214) "The Man in the Ion Mask" (with BrianWilliamson, in Doctor Who Magazine Winter 1991) "Under Pressure" (with Vincent...
International Financial Futures Exchange (LIFFE), established by Sir BrianWilliamson started life on 30 September 1982, to take advantage of the removal...
Hine, in 2000 AD #959, 1995) Series 2: "Case One: Berserkers" (by BrianWilliamson and John Ridgway, in 2000 AD #965, 1995) "Case Two: Danse Macabre"...
the mid-2000s, two of Jamaica's best-known LGBT rights activists, BrianWilliamson and Lenford Harvey, were murdered. In the summer of 2013, Human Rights...
back to the Kings along with Brian Skinner and Kenny Thomas for power forward Chris Webber on February 22, 2005. Williamson has the distinction of being...
Rod Stewart, Tony Williams, Jimi Hendrix, John McLaughlin, Sonny Boy Williamson, Eric Burdon, and CAB. He has incorporated jazz, early British pop, R&B...
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withdrew as a candidate. Brian Travers, former band member of UB40.[non-primary source needed] He died in August 2021. Chris Williamson, former Labour MP for...
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mother insulted her. A hotel clerk saw and brought her to safety. BrianWilliamson, Jamaican gay rights activist, was murdered on June 5, 2004, in Kingston...
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