Ellen Povill, Ruth Simpson (March 15, 1926 – May 8, 2008), and Eileen Webb, Daughters of Bilitis lof
Ellen Povill, Ruth Simpson (March 15, 1926 – May 8, 2008), and Eileen Webb, Daughters of Bilitis loft space, New York City, 1971. Photo by Kay Tobin, c/o @nyplpicturecollection..Ruth Simpson, who was born ninety-one years ago today, was a pioneer in the modern queer liberation movement, best known for founding the first lesbian community center in the United States and as the author of “From the Closets to the Courts.”.Simpson, who was the daughter of two well-known labor movement activists, became president of the New York chapter of the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB), the United States’ earliest and most prominent lesbian rights organization, in 1969. In addition to organizing demonstrations and coordinating with other gay liberation groups, Simpson focused her work on educational programs for DOB members, ultimately making the DOB space into a lesbian community center..On several occasions, New York police raided and attempted to shut down the center, only to face an unrelenting Simpson who, with the assistance of attorneys like Flo Kennedy, was well aware of her rights..In 1976, after publishing her memoir of her time in the liberation fight, Simpson and her partner, Ellen Povill, moved to Woodstock, New York, where they became active members of the local community. Simpson, for example, produced a weekly hour-long television program, “Minority Report,” for a local station from 1982 until her death..Ruth Simpson died on May 8, 2008; she was eighty-two. #lgbthistory #HavePrideInHistory #RuthSimpson #Resist (at New York, New York) -- source link
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