On this March 16 edition of Queery, host Bill Kingsbury interviews veteran activist Judy Greenspan, who may have been the first out Lesbian in the United States States to run for public office when they ran for the Madison School Board in 1973. Greenspan’s school board run was motivated by the banning of gay and lesbian speakers from Madison public schools in 1972. Greenspan was not elected to the school board, but their candidacy demonstrated the power of the election campaign platform to educate the public about the discrimination facing lesbians and gay men at the time.
Greenspan has continued with activism throughout their life including serving as National Logistics Coordinator for the 1987 March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. In 1991 Greenspan moved to California, joining San Francisco ACT UP, the AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power. Greenspan later founded the HIV/AIDS in Prison Project of Catholic Charities of the East Bay, an advocacy group working on behalf of women with HIV and AIDS. The group was critically important in improving medical care in the prison system and was instrumental in making the Vacaville medical prison a model for HIV health care.
Judy Greenspan will be honored and give remarks at a reception from 5-8pm this Saturday, March 19, at the Governor’s Mansion Inn at 130 East Gilman Street. Proof of vaccination is required and masking is requested when not eating. Parking is difficult in this area so consider transit or carpooling if you can.
Image: Left side Wisconsin Historical Society. Right side Outreach LGBTQ Community Center Facebook page.
