Frank Kameny

Earlier this month I debuted some exclusive clips from The Lavender Scare, the documentary in progress chronicling the U.S. government's gay 'witch hunts' beginning in the 50's and 60's and efforts by early gay activists like the late Frank Kameny to put a stop to them. The filmmakers are funding the home stretch of their film via Kickstarter and are excited to debut another very special clip on Towleroad on what would have been Kameny's 88th birthday (May 21). It's the last major interview...Read Full Story

Philadelphia dedicated a street to gay rights pioneer Barbara Gittings today, at Locust Street between 12th and 13th streets, in the heart of the city's LGBT neighborhood. Writes Bruce Yelk from the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp, who also sends these photos from today's dedication ceremony: Known as the Mother of the LGBT Civil Rights Movement, Gittings (July 31, 1932 – February 18, 2007) resided in Philadelphia. She was the editor of the first lesbian publication. With Frank...Read Full Story

On May 20, John Berry, the out Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel and Management gave the commencement address at the University of Maryland. Berry told grads about the changing face of the LGBT rights movement, and  pioneering activist Frank Kameny, who was fired for his federal job for being gay. In 1957 – not long before I was born – a man named Frank Kameny was fired from his Federal job, just for being gay. This was a man who fought his way across Europe in World War II, came home...Read Full Story

Legendary gay activist Frank Kameny soars above us as we speak. Kameny, a former government astronomer whose 1957 firing led to a lifetime of equality activism, died last year, but an amateur star watcher from Canada decided to keep his high-flying legacy alive by naming Minor Planet 40463 after the New York City native. Fox News reports that the astronomer, a man named Gary Billings, was inspired after reading Kameny's obituary last year, and after some discussion with his peers, ultimately...Read Full Story

BY BRETT ZONGKER AND JESSICA GRESKO THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | Posted: Thursday, October 13, 2011 12:00 am WASHINGTON -- Frank Kameny was out and proud before people knewwhat being "gay" meant.Fired from his job as a government astronomer in 1957 for beinggay, he refused to go away quietly. Instead, he got louder. He tookhis case to the Supreme Court in 1961 and helped stage the firstgay rights march in front of the White House and Philadelphia'sIndependence Hall in 1965.Kameny died Tuesday at...Read Full Story