She was also one of the founders of the Women’s Coalition of St Croix an organization dedicated to helping women who survived sexual abuse. In 1980 she co-founded Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, the first US publisher for women of color. She is best known for her poetry which excelled in emotional expression and targeted the injustices she saw throughout her life. She was passionate about confronting racism, sexism, classism and homophobia. Audre LordeĪudre Lorde was an American writer, feminist and civil rights activist. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) also named an activist award after her. The American Library Association awarded her a lifetime membership for her work in promoting positive literature about homosexuality in libraries and named an annual award for the best gay or lesbian novel the Barbara Gittings award. She was passionate about tearing away the ‘shroud of invisibility’ around homosexuality which had been associated with crime and mental illness. She was also part of the movement to get the American Psychiatric Association to drop homosexuality as a mental illness in 1972. She worked closely with Frank Kameny in the 1960s on the first picket lines that called out the ban on employment of gay people by the United States Government. She organized the New York chapter of the Daughters of Bilitis (First lesbian and civil rights organization) from 1958 – 63 and edited the DOB magazine ‘The Ladder’ from 1963 – 66. Barbara Gittingsīarbara Gittings was an American activist for LGBT equality. Johnson and Rivera participated in many gay liberation marches until 1973 when they were banned from participating in the gay pride parade as the committee organizing it stated they “weren’t gonna allow drag queens” as they were “giving them a bad name.” Their response was to march ahead of the parade. They provided food, clothing, emotional support and a sense of family for anyone staying there or living in the area. They paid the rent for it with money they made as sex workers. In 1972 Johnson and Rivera opened the STAR House, a shelter for gay and trans street kids. Marsha P Johnson and Sylvia Rivera co-founded the group Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (S.T.A.R). Milk became an icon and martyr in the gay community and was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009.
His passion and drive to make change in politics earned him the support of many gay bar owners who had become frustrated by the lack of support in dealing with police harassment. He clashed with Jim Foster who had been active in gay politics for 10 years and refused to endorse Milk. When he first started being active in politics, he challenged the city’s gay leadership stating they were too conservative in attempting to gain political rights for homosexuals. During his time in office, he sponsored a bill banning discrimination in public accommodations, housing and employment on the basis of sexual orientation. He served almost eleven months in office before being assassinated.
Harvey Milk was the first openly gay politician to be elected in California.