16 Facts About Brian Williamson

Brian Williamson was a Jamaican gay rights activist who co-founded the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays.

Brian Williamson was known for being one of the earliest openly gay men in Jamaican society and one of its best known gay rights activists.

In June 2004, Brian Williamson was murdered in his apartment by an acquaintance, Dwight Hayden, whom he had been aiding with financial handouts.

Brian Williamson was born to an upper-middle-class family in the rural Saint Ann Parish.

Brian Williamson initially considered joining the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church, studying for this position in Montego Bay, but eventually decided against this.

Unlike most other LGBT rights activists in Jamaica, Brian Williamson did not seek to protect himself by using a pseudonym, disguising his voice, or hiding his appearance.

Brian Williamson lived in one room of his apartment block and rented out a number of others.

Brian Williamson give him money, Brian Williamson give him food and help him to purchase to sell on the road.

Hayden asked for money from Brian Williamson, who agreed he would give it to him later in the evening.

At this, Hayden attacked Brian Williamson, stabbing him roughly seventy times.

Chambers noticed that the air conditioning had been left on, something that Brian Williamson was unlikely to have done, and then realised that Brian Williamson's bedroom door had been left ajar.

Corporal Devon Hugh Williams of the Constabulary Communication Network informed press that the police suspected that the motive of the attack had been robbery, as evidence pointing to the fact that Brian Williamson's apartment had been ransacked and a safe removed.

J-FLAG expressed its suspicion that the killing was a "hate-related crime", articulating the view that Brian Williamson had been killed because he was a publicly visible gay man.

Brian Williamson never stopped to think, 'oh, I might get in trouble for this,' so in that sense he was very selfless.

Brian Williamson's murder was really a traumatic loss for our community.

Four days later, J-FLAG held a memorial devoted to Brian Williamson, which was attended by almost two hundred people; the memorial involved personal tributes, poetry slams, and lip synching to Whitney Houston songs.