Adele Starr (February 10, 1920 - December 10, 2010) organized the Los Angeles chapter of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays in 1976. [1]
Ida Seltzer, later Adele Starr, was born in Brooklyn, New York, on February 10, 1920, the daughter of an accountant and a homemaker. [2]
Adele Starr, at the time in Brentwood, California and a mother of five, became an activist for gay rights and marriage equality in 1974 after her second son, Philip Starr, told her he was gay. [2]
Los Angeles P-FLAG, founded in 1976, received more than 7,500 letters requesting information. Every letter was answered by a member of the chapter. [2]
In 1981, members decided to launch a national organization. The first PFLAG office was established in Los Angeles under founding president Adele Starr, who remained president until 1986. [3]
She died on December 10, 2010, at 90 years old. [2]
The Mattachine Society, founded in 1950, was an early national gay rights organization in the United States, preceded by several covert and open organizations, such as Chicago's Society for Human Rights. Communist and labor activist Harry Hay formed the group with a collection of male friends in Los Angeles to protect and improve the rights of gay men. Branches formed in other cities, and by 1961 the Society had splintered into regional groups.
PFLAG is the United States' largest organization dedicated to supporting, educating, and advocating for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people and those who love them. PFLAG National is the national organization, which provides support to the PFLAG network of local chapters. PFLAG has nearly 400 chapters across the United States, with more than 350,000 members and supporters.
Calpernia Sarah Addams is an American actress, musician, spokesperson and activist for transgender rights and issues.
Brenda Howard was an American bisexual rights activist and sex-positive feminist. The Brenda Howard Memorial Award is named for her.
Pride at Work (P@W) is an American lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender group (LGBTQ+) of labor union activists affiliated with the AFL-CIO.
The Brenda Howard Memorial Award is an award for activism created in 2005 by the Queens Chapter of PFLAG and named after Brenda Howard. It was the first award by a major American LGBT organization to be named after an openly bisexual person. The award, which is given annually, recognizes an individual whose work on behalf of the bisexual community and the greater LGBT community best exemplifies the vision, principles, and community service exemplified by Howard, and who serves as a positive and visible role model for the entire LGBT community.
This article addresses the history of transgender people in the United States from prior to Western contact until the present. There are a few historical accounts of transgender people that have been present in the land now known as the United States at least since the early 1600s. Before Western contact, some Native American tribes had third gender people whose social roles varied from tribe to tribe. People dressing and living differently from the gender roles typical of their sex assigned at birth and contributing to various aspects of American history and culture have been documented from the 17th century to the present day. In the 20th and 21st centuries, advances in gender-affirming surgery as well as transgender activism have influenced transgender life and the popular perception of transgender people in the United States.
Ivy Bottini was an American activist for women's and LGBT rights, and a visual artist.
The first English-language use of the word "bisexual" to refer to sexual orientation occurred in 1892.
Gloria Johnson was an important figure within the LGBT community in San Diego, California.
Jeanne Sobelson Manford was an American schoolteacher and activist. She co-founded the support group organization, PFLAG, for which she was awarded the 2012 Presidential Citizens Medal.
Jeanne Córdova was an American writer and supporter of the lesbian and gay rights movement, founder of The Lesbian Tide, and a founder of the West Coast LGBT movement. A former Catholic nun, Córdova was a second-wave feminist lesbian activist and self-described butch.
Judith Meuli was an American feminist, activist and scientist.
Paulette Goodman was the President of Parents, Friends and Family of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) from 1988 to 1992. She led the campaign to get PFLAG ads displayed on DC Metro buses.
Helen Jane "Sandy" Sandoz, also known by her pseudonym Helen Sanders, was an American lesbian rights activist and writer. She was involved in the Daughters of Bilitis and its official publication, The Ladder, from 1956 to 1970.
The following is a timeline of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) history in the 20th century.
Mary Griffith was an American LGBT rights activist whose son, Bobby, died by suicide due to her religious intolerance. Following his suicide, Griffith became a longstanding LGBT rights activist.
Amy Ashworth, born Amélie Wilhelmine Marie Everard, was a Dutch-born American activist and nurse. In 1973, she was one of the co-founders of PFLAG.