Roberta Achtenberg, First Openly Lesbian Woman to Address National Political Convention
Roberta Achtenberg addressed the Democratic Party Convention on this day, becoming the first openly lesbian or gay person to address a national convention of one of the two major political parties.
In the Clinton administration she served as Assistant Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and as a result was the first openly lesbian or gay person ever to be confirmed by the U. S. Senate.
Actually, the first lesbian or gay person to speak to the Democratic Party convention occurred on July 12, 1972, when Madeline Davis spoke at 5 am. Because of the hour, her remarks were not broadcast on radio or television and few if any people outside the Miami convention center heard it. In her remarks, Davis declared that “Now we are coming out of our closets and onto the convention floor.” in 2001, Davis founded an archive of the history of LGBT activity in the Buffalo, New York, area. The archive was housed in the basement of her and her partner’s house until 2009, when it was donated to SUNY Buffalo.
Watch a 2011 Speech by Achtenberg:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_e1RgSb4DMRead the chapter on Achtenberg in: David Mixner and Dennis Baily, Brave Journeys: Profiles in Gay and Lesbian Courage (2000)
Learn more about LGBT politics from The Advocate.