Lest we forget, in the communal excitement and debriefing over the National Equality March: Today marks eleven years since the death of University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard after a brutal gay bashing. His mother Judy Shepard, one of the LGBT community’s staunchest advocates, spoke at the March yesterday: I had the honor of meeting […]
In honor of all the victims of the tragedy of September 11 and its aftermath, their families, and their friends. I will always remember, as will many of us, where I was the morning of 9/11. A lucky change in job the day before kept me away from Ground Zero at the time of the
Phyllis J. Fleming, who died last month at the age of 84, was a pioneering physics professor. She received her doctorate in 1955, when such degrees in any field, much less the hard sciences, were rare for women. She spent 50 years of her life teaching at Wellesley College in Massachusetts. While I did not
Bonnie Tinker, a peace activist, lesbian mom, and head of the Oregon LGBT organization Love Makes a Family, died after a bike accident at Virginia Tech, where she was attending a conference. Tinker, 61, was hit by a truck and pronounced dead at the scene. I did not know Tinker, but I am sure some
Today marks the first anniversary of the murder of openly gay teen Larry King (who identified as Letitia King in the weeks before the murder). I feel like a broken record, once again trotting out my list of safe schools resources, plus a few additional ones from GLSEN and PFLAG, as well as an update
Carol Adair, the spouse of U.S. Poet Laureate Kay Ryan and a venerated teacher at the College of Marin, died of cancer on January 3rd, 2009, at the age of 66. She is survived by Ryan, two daughters, four grandchildren, her mother, and four siblings. Her death was first announced in the Marin Independent Journal
Ten years ago today, Matthew Shepard was pronounced dead at Poudre Valley Hospital in Wyoming after being severely beaten in a homophobic attack. His parents have since become outspoken advocates for erasing hate. I had the honor of hosting Judy Shepard when she spoke at Merrill Lynch in 2000, back when I was head of
In honor of all the victims of the tragedy of September 11 and its aftermath, their families, and their friends. May we all work in whatever way we can for a safer, more peaceful world for our children.
In June, I was happy to relate the news that two pioneers of the lesbian- and LGBT-rights movements, Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, would be the first same-sex couple to marry legally in San Francisco. Today, I am saddened by the news of Martin’s death. She and Lyon had celebrated over 50 years together.
Last week, Jennifer Davis and her partner Andrea Pisanello were shot and killed in Largo, Florida, and Davis’ four-year-old daughter and two-year-old son were shot and killed in nearby Clearwater by Davis’ former husband, Oliver Bernsdorff, whom she had divorced in August. He is the children’s father, and had retained custody of them. Bernsdorff shot
