Brian Coyle

Who was Brian Coyle?

Brian John Coyle was an American community leader, elected official, and gay activist.

He was born in Great Falls, Montana, raised in Moorhead, Minnesota, graduated from Moorhead High School, and received a BA degree from the University of Minnesota in 1967. While at the University, Coyle was a member of Students for a Democratic Society and a writer for the Minnesota Daily. He organized the first Vietnam 'teach-in' at the University, and originated the Free University.

After graduating from the University, he taught humanities at Moorhead State University for one year, where he was indicted for failure to register for the draft, but was acquitted as a conscientious objector.

He returned to Minneapolis in 1968, worked at the Twin Cities Draft Information Center, and was one of the founders of the alternative newspaper Hundred Flowers. He worked as national office coordinator for the New American Movement and directed the National Campaign to Impeach Nixon, and founded the Progressive Roundtable. During this time, he publicly came out as gay.

Locally, Coyle spent much time in the mid-to-late-1970s working on tenants' rights issues, and campaigning for a rent control ordinance. He was also active in powerline protests in rural Minnesota.