A Tribute to Hank Wilson

By Arthur Evans

Published in SF Bay Times, November 13, 2008

I was very saddened to hear of the death of San Francisco gay activist Hank Wilson, who succumbed to lung cancer, secondary to AIDS. A favorite memory of mine of Hank is from the no-on-Prop-6 campaign of 1978. That measure would have prohibited gay people from being teachers in California. Hank, who was a teacher, said we can’t just preach to the choir; we have to reach out to people who hold differing views or are uncommitted. So I followed him to shopping malls in suburbia. Many of the folks there had never dealt face-to-face before with an openly gay person, but they loved Hank. He was upbeat, forthright, witty, and articulate. It was hard for them not to like and respect him, even if they disagreed with his message. His outgoing energy helped defeat Prop 6.

Another favorite memory is from the old Club Baths at 8th and Howard Streets, in the early late 1970s. On one occasion, the manager refused to let Hank in because he was wearing a t-shirt of Bay Area Gay Liberation (BAGL). The manager claimed that BAGL was “a communist organization,” which was preposterous, and so Hank could not be admitted. Hank went outside, flagged down a passing police car, and brought the cop in as a witness, as the manager repeated the same action. Not long thereafter, Hank filed suit in Small Claims Court against the bathhouse for violating his civil rights, and won. His abiding sense of gay pride and justice carried the day.

Hank faced many daunting adversities in the course of his life. But he never gave up. In any challenging situation, he always asked himself this question: “What can I learn from this experience.” The things that he learned in these trials made him an inspiring teacher for the rest of us. We will never forget the lesson of his life.