August 10: Andrew Sullivan

b. August 10, 1963

Andrew Sullivan is an author and journalist who regularly appears on national television and whose commentary is featured in major national publications. He is a leading advocate of same-sex marriage.

"The most successful marriages, gay or straight, even if they begin in romantic love, often become friendships. It's the ones that become the friendships that last."

Andrew Sullivan was born in South Godstone, a small town in southern England, in 1963. After earning a B.A. in modern history from Oxford University he received a fellowship to study at Harvard University, where he earned a masters degree in public administration and a Ph.D. in government.

In 1986, he began at The New Republic (TNR) and in 1991, he was named the magazine's editor, the youngest in its history. In the five years Sullivan was at the helm, the magazine's circulation grew and advertising revenues increased. Sullivan expanded TNR's sphere beyond politics to cover such cultural topics as same-sex marriage and affirmative action. He created a stir by publishing excerpts from the controversial study on race and IQ, The Bell Curve.

In the 1990's Sullivan became known for his writing on gay issues. His article "The Politics of Homosexuality" has been called the most influential article of the decade in gay rights. Virtually Normal: An Argument About Homosexuality was the first book to advocate civil marriage rights for gay couples. Sullivan also publishedLove Undetectable: Notes on Friendship, Sex, and Survival and edited a reader,Same-Sex Marriage: Pro and Con.

As a practicing Catholic, Sullivan has challenged the Roman Catholic Church's position on homosexuality. In Virtually Normal he takes the position that the Bible forbids homosexuality only when it is linked to prostitution or pagan ritual.

Sullivan started his blog, The Daily Dish, in 2000. His articles have appeared in The New Republic, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Postand Esquire. He is a regular guest on The Chris Matthews Show, Charlie Rose, Anderson Cooper 360°, Meet The Press, Face the Nation, Nightline, NPR's Fresh Airand Larry King Live.

Bibliography:

• TIME Magazine Bio

Selected works by Andrew Sullivan:

• Love Undetectable: Notes on Friendship, Sex, Survival. Vintage, 1999.
  
• Same-Sex Marriage, Pro and Con. Vintage, 2004.
  
• The Conservative Soul. HarperCollins, 2006.
  
• Virtually Normal. Vintage, 1996.

21 May: Frank Kameny, Gay Pioneer

The momentum is there, and that's not going to be stopped. It's moved from hopes of a grass-roots movement, to the actuality of a grass-roots movement. And it's taken 40 years to do it.

b. May 21, 1925

In 1957, the Army Map Service in Washington, D.C. dismissed astronomer Frank Kameny. Though a WWII veteran with an M.A. and Ph.D. in astronomy from Harvard University, Kameny was discharged because he was gay. Rather than accept a common practice of the times, Kameny fought for his rights. He successfully challenged anti-gay policies of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), the US Department of Defense and the US Civil Service Commission.

Kameny sued the Army Map Service and lost his case. On appeal he lost again, and after the Supreme Court denied his petition to direct the case to be reconsidered, Kameny realized his objectives would require a broader movement. In 1961, Kameny co-founded the Mattachine Society of Washington, D.C with Gay Pioneer Jack Nichols.

Kameny was the first to bring open activism to the gay rights movement. The D.C. Mattachine Society contacted public officials to attempt to change policy. They published a newsletter, The Gazette, and campaigned to overturn security clearance denials, employment restrictions and dismissals of gay men from the Federal workforce. In 1963, Kameny began a movement to repeal sodomy laws and challenge the APA's classification of homosexuality as a mental disorder.

On April 17, 1965, Kameny led the first public picket for gay rights at the White House. With support from the Daughters of Bilitis, the Mattachine Society extended its protest to the Pentagon and the Civil Service Commission. He helped launch the first organized gay and lesbian demonstrations for equality. These seminal demonstrations by activists from New York, Philadelphia and Washingon D.C. were held annually each July 4th at Independence Hall from 1965 to 1969 and were called annual reminders. They paved the way for the Stonewall Riots in 1969.

Inspired by Stokely Carmichael's "Black is Beautiful," Kameny dubbed the phrase "Gay is Good" as a slogan for the movement. He led the fight for gay rights into the 1970s and ran for Congress in 1971 on an equal rights platform. The APA removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders in 1973 and the Civil Service Commission lifted its ban on homosexuality in 1975, an action President Bill Clinton formalized many years later.

In 2000, Equality Forum with WHYY/PBS produced the documentary film "Gay Pioneers" about Frank Kameny and other early activists. In 2006, the Library of Congress incorporated over 70,000 letters, documents and memorabilia from Frank Kameny into its permanent collection. The Washington, D.C. City Council honored Frank Kameny in 2007, hailing him as a "true freedom fighter."

Related articles

• DC Pride Festival Honors Gay Rights Pioneer Kameny (pinkbananaworld.com)
• NYPL, Gay and Lesbian Studies Research Guide (legacy.www.nypl.org)

December 20, Virginia Uribe, Educator

As long as I have a breath in me, I will continue to fight for the rights of gay and lesbian students.

b. December 20, 1933

As a counselor and science teacher at Fairfax High School in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), Virginia Uribe witnessed the troubles of gay students. The plight of one student who had been kicked out of his house and had dropped out of four different high schools because of sexual harassment convinced Uribe to take action. In 1984, she founded Project 10, a drop-out prevention program for GLBT youth.

Project 10 met resistance. Conservative groups, led by the Traditional Values Coalition, attacked the group and used their influence to threaten to cut funding for the LAUSD. Uribe prevailed at the court hearing and Project 10 continued to provide assistance to GLBT teenagers.

The program focuses on building school-based support for teens by training school personnel in conflict resolution and suicide prevention, helping students participate in the development of school protection policies and providing access to information about human sexuality. In 1998, when she retired from teaching, Uribe became Executive Director of Friends of Project 10, Inc., the nonprofit arm of Project 10. The nonprofit funds programs not covered by the district, including a gay and lesbian prom and a lobbying day for educational issues in Sacramento.

Uribe's program has spread to dozens of schools in the LAUSD, but her vision has extended to many other parts of the country as well. High schools throughout the nation incorporate aspects of Project 10. Uribe, a Ph.D in counseling psychology, influences policy through her writing. Her articles have appeared in Education Digest, High School Journal, Theory Into Practice, and a special issue of the Harvard Education Review. She has appeared in USA Today and the LA Times, and has spoken on public radio and television.

In 1992, Virginia Uribe received the National Education Association's Annual Human and Civil Rights Award for Creative Leadership in Human Rights, now renamed the Virginia Uribe Award for Creative Leadership in Human Rights. She has been honored by the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, the California State Senate and Assembly, the Los Angeles City Council and the American Civil Liberties Union.

Related articles

• LAUSD fights anti-gay bullying at schools (abclocal.go.com)
• Oklahoma Teen Commits Suicide After Homophobic Meeting [Rip] (jezebel.com)