PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Equality Forum announced today that former Houston Mayor Annise Parker, the first openly LGBT mayor of a major American city, will serve as the keynote speaker for the Barbara Gittings’ Residence Historic Marker Dedication ceremony slated for Tuesday, July 26 from 11:00 am – 11:30 am (ET) at 21st and Locust Streets, Philadelphia, PA 19103.
“As the nation’s first openly LGBT mayor of a major American city, former Houston Mayor Annise Parker is the right person to be dedicating this historic marker to the ‘Mother of the LGBT civil rights movement’,” said Malcolm Lazin, Equality Forum’s Founder and Executive Director.
Known as the “Mother of the LGBT Civil Rights Movement”, Barbara Gittings (July 31, 1932 – February 18, 2007) resided in Philadelphia, PA with her partner, Kay Lahusen. She was the editor of the first lesbian publication. With Frank Kameny, she organized the Annual Reminders at Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, which launched the LGBT civil rights movement. Gittings spearheaded the successful initiative to have the American Library Association include gay and lesbian books in the nation’s card catalogues and libraries. Kameny and Gittings challenged the American Psychiatric Association, resulting in homosexuality being removed from the list of mental illnesses.
