October 6, 2010 | 3:53 PM | By

Frank Kameny on D.C. vs. SF and Marion Barry

FILED UNDER: History, The People, LGBT, Marion Barry

DCVirago

Inspired by "Black is Beautiful", in the '60s Kameny said, "Gay is Good".

Recently, Washingtonian magazine profiled Dr. Frank Kameny, a notable local leader for Gay rights. Over 50 years ago, Kameny, a veteran of World War II who holds a PhD from Harvard, was fired from his astronomy job because of his sexual orientation. According to Wikipedia, he filed “the first civil rights claim based on sexual orientation”. Two things about the extensive profile jumped out at me:

W: Has DC been the center of the gay-rights movement?

FK: I’ve said for many years that San Francisco was looked upon as the center, but DC is very much the success story of the gay movement.

Huh. I just read a post on SFist expressing surprise that D.C.’s Starbucks would offer gender neutral bathrooms before San Francisco’s did.

I also noticed this, about Marion Barry:

FK: What is now the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance, which was founded in 1971, formed out of the nucleus of my campaign committee. The gay community has been credited with getting Marion Barry the necessary margin of votes that won him the mayoralty 1978, and he’s always indicated his appreciation, even with his opposition in recent times to same-sex marriage. With that, I think he was just trying to be a smart politician in terms of what he perceived as the sentiments of his ward, correctly or incorrectly. Otherwise, he’s been a good political friend.

As of this summer, in Dupont Circle, the block of 17th Street between P St and R St is “Frank Kameny Way“.

About the author

DCentric was created to examine the ways race and class interact in Washington, D.C., a city with a vibrant mix of cultures and neighborhoods. Your guides to the changing district are reporters Anna John and Elahe Izadi. View all posts by Anna →