Patsy Lynch, Photographer

b. July 21, 1953

"If we don’t know our history we’re going to become forgotten."

Patsy Lynch is a trailblazing photographer whose work documenting several decades of the GLBT civil rights struggle has provided visibility to the movement and inspired activists worldwide.

A native of Washington, D.C., Lynch received her Bachelor of Arts from Elon University, where she started the college newspaper. She earned two master's degrees from Gallaudet University.

Working for both The Advocate and the UPI news agency in the 1970's and 1980's, Lynch was the first openly gay journalist with a White House credential. She was a founding member of the Washington, D.C., chapter of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association.

Through her lens, Lynch chronicled numerous milestones in the GLBT civil rights struggle. She was one of four official photographers at the 1979 Lesbian and Gay March on Washington. She captured lasting images of the AIDS activism movement, including a 1987 protest at the White House and a 1988 die-in organized by ACT UP in Washington.

Lynch served as the photographer for the "Community Pioneers" exhibit of Washington residents who contributed to the struggle for equality. "We need to let people know that we are here, and we’re not going away," Lynch said.

In 1990, the National Gay Press Association named Lynch Photographer of the Year. In 2006, she received a Distinguished Service Award from the Gay and Lesbian Activist Alliance. The following year, she received the Community Pioneer award from the Rainbow History Project. Recently, Lynch has worked on assignment for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), where she documented Hurricane Katrina and the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

A resident of the Washington area, Lynch is also a skilled sports photographer, landscape photographer and portrait artist.

Bibliography

• "About Patsy Lynch." Patsy Lynch Photography. 26 May 2010.
• "Brick presents award to Patsy Lynch." Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance. 1 June 2010.
• Najafi, Yusef. "Facial Expressions: Rainbow History Project offers pioneer portraits." Metro Weekly.27 September 2007.
• "Patsy Lynch." The Rainbow History Project. 26 May 2010.

Websites

• Patsy Lynch Photography
• The Rainbow History Project 

Related articles

• GLBT History Month 2010 (mlp.org)

Kevin Jennings, Educator/Activist

b. May 8, 1963

"We know that students learn best in a school where they feel truly safe. I am here to make that happen for more kids."

A monumental leader and crusader, Kevin Jennings has dedicated his career to ensuring safe schools for all students. In 1990, he founded the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), the nation's first organization combating discrimination against GLBT students. Jennings currently serves as the assistant deputy secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools at the U.S. Department of Education.

The youngest of five children, Jennings experienced a childhood deeply rooted in conservative ideology. Poor and in a continual state of transition, his family moved so often that Jennings attended 11 schools in four states. While he displayed impressive academic aptitude, he suffered daily from mental and physical abuse by classmates. “School was a place I both loved and hated,” recalls Jennings. “I loved it because I loved learning. I hated it because I was targeted at a pretty young age for bullying and harassment.”

In 1985, Jennings earned a bachelor's degree magna cum laude from Harvard University, becoming the first member of his family to graduate from college. Later, he earned master's degrees from both Columbia University and New York University.

Following his graduation from Harvard, Jennings pursued a career in education. In 1988, while he was a history teacher at a Massachusetts high school, Jennings spearheaded the country's first Gay Straight Alliance (GSA), a coalition of students fighting against harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Two years later, Jennings expanded the movement to encompass parents, teachers and community members, creating GLSEN.  Beginning as a grassroots volunteers group, GLSEN has developed into a national organization with more than 40 chapters and over 4,500 schools nationwide.

As co-chair of the Education Committee of the Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, Jennings challenged the Massachusetts State Board of Education to adopt new policies protecting GLBT students. In 1993, his efforts led to the country's first state law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in public schools.

Named by Newsweek one of the top 100 people likely to make a difference in the 21st century, Jennings has authored six books and received a Lambda Literary Award for "Telling Tales Out of School." He co-wrote and produced the documentary "Out of the Past," which won the 1998 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award for Best Documentary.

"The process of change is like a relay race," says Jennings. "My job is to ensure that we're further ahead in the race and, like a good relay team member, ready to pass that baton to the next person with a lead toward the end goal of a safe school for every child.”

Bibliography

Archibold, Randal C. "Public Lives: A Gay Crusader Sees History on His Side. The New York Times.6 July 2010.
"Kevin Jennings, Assistant Deputy Secretary for Safe and Drug-Free Schools.” U.S. Department of Education. 6 July 2010.
"Kevin Jennings.” KevinJennings.com. 19 May 2010.
"Kevin Jenning’s Biography.” GLSEN: Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. 9 June 2005.
Thomas, Katie. "When Tradition and Taunts Collide: Gay Hockey Fans Criticize Garden.” New York Times. 6 July 2010.


Books by Kevin Jennings
Becoming Visible: A Reader in Gay and Lesbian History for High School and College Students(1994)
Telling Tales Out of School (2000)
Always My Child: A Parent’s Guide to Understanding Your Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered or Questioning Son or Daughter (2002)
One Teacher in 10 (2005)
Mama’s Boy, Preacher’s Son (2007)


Websites
Department of Education
GLSEN
Support Kevin Jennings Fan Page

Kevin Jennings, Educator/Activist

b. May 8, 1963

"We know that students learn best in a school where they feel truly safe. I am here to make that happen for more kids."

A monumental leader and crusader, Kevin Jennings has dedicated his career to ensuring safe schools for all students. In 1990, he founded the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), the nation's first organization combating discrimination against GLBT students. Jennings currently serves as the assistant deputy secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools at the U.S. Department of Education.

The youngest of five children, Jennings experienced a childhood deeply rooted in conservative ideology. Poor and in a continual state of transition, his family moved so often that Jennings attended 11 schools in four states. While he displayed impressive academic aptitude, he suffered daily from mental and physical abuse by classmates. “School was a place I both loved and hated,” recalls Jennings. “I loved it because I loved learning. I hated it because I was targeted at a pretty young age for bullying and harassment.”

In 1985, Jennings earned a bachelor's degree magna cum laude from Harvard University, becoming the first member of his family to graduate from college. Later, he earned master's degrees from both Columbia University and New York University.

Following his graduation from Harvard, Jennings pursued a career in education. In 1988, while he was a history teacher at a Massachusetts high school, Jennings spearheaded the country's first Gay Straight Alliance (GSA), a coalition of students fighting against harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Two years later, Jennings expanded the movement to encompass parents, teachers and community members, creating GLSEN.  Beginning as a grassroots volunteers group, GLSEN has developed into a national organization with more than 40 chapters and over 4,500 schools nationwide.

As co-chair of the Education Committee of the Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, Jennings challenged the Massachusetts State Board of Education to adopt new policies protecting GLBT students. In 1993, his efforts led to the country's first state law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in public schools.

Named by Newsweek one of the top 100 people likely to make a difference in the 21st century, Jennings has authored six books and received a Lambda Literary Award for "Telling Tales Out of School." He co-wrote and produced the documentary "Out of the Past," which won the 1998 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award for Best Documentary.

"The process of change is like a relay race," says Jennings. "My job is to ensure that we're further ahead in the race and, like a good relay team member, ready to pass that baton to the next person with a lead toward the end goal of a safe school for every child.”

Bibliography
Archibold, Randal C. "Public Lives: A Gay Crusader Sees History on His Side. The New York Times.6 July 2010.
"Kevin Jennings, Assistant Deputy Secretary for Safe and Drug-Free Schools.” U.S. Department of Education. 6 July 2010.
"Kevin Jennings.” KevinJennings.com. 19 May 2010.
"Kevin Jenning’s Biography.” GLSEN: Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. 9 June 2005.
Thomas, Katie. "When Tradition and Taunts Collide: Gay Hockey Fans Criticize Garden.” New York Times. 6 July 2010.
Books by Kevin Jennings
Becoming Visible: A Reader in Gay and Lesbian History for High School and College Students(1994)
Telling Tales Out of School (2000)
Always My Child: A Parent’s Guide to Understanding Your Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered or Questioning Son or Daughter (2002)
One Teacher in 10 (2005)
Mama’s Boy, Preacher’s Son (2007)
Websites
Department of Education
GLSEN
Kevin Jennings Social Network
Support Kevin Jennings Fan Page

Nzinga (1583-1663), Female King of the Mbundu.

Nzinga is renowned in Black history for her courageous part in resistance to the Portuguese colonial power in what is now Angola.

Her father had been the "ngola" or ruler (from which the Portuguese took the name for their colonial territory), and was followed in that position by Nzinga's brother, Ngola Mbande. As a child, Nzinga had been greatly favoured by her father, who gave her the opportunity to watch him closely as he governed, and even went with him to war. Later, she was sent by her brother as envoy to the Poruguese governor at a peace conference,  in Luanda in 1622, aiming to have the Portuguese withdraw a fortress they had built on Mbundu land, return some of her brother's subjects who had been captured, and to put an end to the marauding raids by bands of Portuguese.

She was able to secure a peace treaty - which the Portuguese failed to keep. Her brother then committed suicide, leaving his son Kaza as heir, with Nzinga acting as regent.Instead, she had him killed, and assumed the throne herself. As ruler, she continued to resist the Portuguese in numerous battles, personally leading her army in war, and forming alliances with both the neighbouring African peoples of Kongo in the African interior, and with the Dutch on the coast. She maintained this resistance for over thirty years, until well into her sixties, before finally signing a peace treaty in 1657.

The queer interest in Nzinga rests in her assuming the throne of her people, which traditionally could only be held by men. As she had occupied a position absolutely restricted to men, so she was necessarily regarded as male.  As a man, and as king, it then became important that s/he acquire a harem of wives. As Nzinga was biologically female, her wives then needed to be biologically male, who dressed as women and took female gender roles. 

In the African context, her story is not as extraordinary as it may sound. Ethnographic reports from all regions of the continent have shown that gender roles were traditionally less closely identified with biological sex than in the West, so that wealthy women who could afford it, could and sometimes did acquire wives, and take on the roles of "husband" - while some wealthy men included the occasional male among their "wives".

(See "Africa's Female Kings and Husbands")