Coyle, Brian J., 1944-1991.

Brian J. Coyle was born in Great Falls, Montana (June 25, 1944) and raised in Moorhead, Minnesota. He graduated from Moorhead High School (1961) and received his BA degree from the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis (1967). While attending the University Coyle participated in the Young Democrats and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS); wrote for the Minnesota Daily; helped organize the first Vietnam teach-in; and originated the Free University.

After graduation Coyle taught humanities at Moorhead State University (Sept. 1967-June 1968). He was indicted twice for failure to comply with the draft (1968), but was acquitted both times as a conscientious objector. He returned to Minneapolis and worked at the Twin Cities Draft Information Center (Jan. 1969-Dec. 1971) and helped found the alternative newspaper, Hundred Flowers. Coyle made public his homosexuality in 1971 and became a life-long activist in the gay rights movement.

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