Post by restenergy on Aug 28, 2008 1:35:44 GMT -5
Sad news today about a pioneer for gay and lesbian rights. Del Martin died today (Wednesday).
The full obituary from which these lines are taken can be read in a PDF here:
www.nclrights.org/site/DocServer/Del_Martin_Obituary.pdf?docID=3781
On a personal note: I never met Del Martin or Phyllis Lyon, but one of my friends and mentors was herself mentored by Del and Phyllis when she was a young woman. Through her I came to appreciate more of the history of the movement for gay and lesbian rights. I am grateful for the brave and honorable witness and activism of Del and her partner (and spouse!) Phyllis throughout their lives.
Dorothy L. (Del) Martin (May 5, 1921 – August 27, 2008)
Died on Wednesday, August 27, 2008 at UCSF Hospice, San Francisco, California. Survived by spouse Phyllis Lyon, daughter Kendra Mon, son-in-law Eugene Lane, granddaughter Lorraine Mon, grandson Kevin Mon, sister-in-law Patricia Lyon and a vast, loving and grateful lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender family.
An eloquent organizer for civil rights, civil liberties, and human dignity, Del Martin created and helped shape the modern lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and feminist movements. She was a woman of extraordinary courage, persistence, intelligence, humor, and fundamental decency, who refused to be silenced by fear and never stopped fighting for equality. Her last public political act, on June 16, 2008, was to marry Phyllis Lyon, her partner of 55 years. They were the first couple to wed in San Francisco after the California Supreme Court recognized that marriage for same-sex couples is a fundamental right in a case brought by plaintiffs including Martin and Lyon.
Died on Wednesday, August 27, 2008 at UCSF Hospice, San Francisco, California. Survived by spouse Phyllis Lyon, daughter Kendra Mon, son-in-law Eugene Lane, granddaughter Lorraine Mon, grandson Kevin Mon, sister-in-law Patricia Lyon and a vast, loving and grateful lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender family.
An eloquent organizer for civil rights, civil liberties, and human dignity, Del Martin created and helped shape the modern lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and feminist movements. She was a woman of extraordinary courage, persistence, intelligence, humor, and fundamental decency, who refused to be silenced by fear and never stopped fighting for equality. Her last public political act, on June 16, 2008, was to marry Phyllis Lyon, her partner of 55 years. They were the first couple to wed in San Francisco after the California Supreme Court recognized that marriage for same-sex couples is a fundamental right in a case brought by plaintiffs including Martin and Lyon.
In what would prove to be an act that would change history, Martin, Lyon, and six other lesbians co-founded the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB) in San Francisco in 1955. DOB, which was named after an obscure book of lesbian love poetry, initially was organized to provide secret mutual support and social activities. It became the first public and political lesbian rights organization in the United States, laying a foundation for the women’s and lesbian and gay liberation movements that flowered in the early 1970s and continue today.
The full obituary from which these lines are taken can be read in a PDF here:
www.nclrights.org/site/DocServer/Del_Martin_Obituary.pdf?docID=3781
On a personal note: I never met Del Martin or Phyllis Lyon, but one of my friends and mentors was herself mentored by Del and Phyllis when she was a young woman. Through her I came to appreciate more of the history of the movement for gay and lesbian rights. I am grateful for the brave and honorable witness and activism of Del and her partner (and spouse!) Phyllis throughout their lives.
