The Legacy Project

Today the Legacy Project commemorates the death of writer CARSON MCCULLERS (The Heart is a Lonely Hunter; The Member of the Wedding; The Ballad of the Sad Café; Reflections in a Golden Eye) who won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. She died on September 29, 1967 from a brain hemorrhage at age 50 in Nyack, N.Y. Read more about Legacy Nominee at… https://legacyprojectchicago.org/person/carson-mccullers

AS SEEN ON THE LEGACY WALL…
Today the Legacy Project commemorates the death of courageous le***an activist FANNYANN EDDY, founder of the Sierra Leone Le***an and Gay Association, who paid the ultimate price for advocating on behalf of the seriously endangered LGBTQ people of her homeland. She was assassinated on September 28, 2002 in Freetown, Sierra Leone… Learn more about Legacy Nominee at… https://legacyprojectchicago.org/person/fannyann-eddy

IN HONOR OF …
Today the Legacy Project celebrates the birth of Chicana and feminist writer/theorist GLORIA ANZALDUA (Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza) – winner of an American Book Award as well as a Lambda Literary Award and who also co-edited This Bridge Called My Back: Writings By Radical Women of Color. She was born on September 26, 1942 in Rio Grande Valley, TX. Read more about Legacy Walk Candidate for Induction at… https://legacyprojectchicago.org/person/gloria-e-anzaldua

Today the Legacy Project commemorates the death of Blues singer BESSIE SMITH (Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out, St. Louis Blues, A Good Man is Hard to Find, I Need a Little Sugar in My Bowl). The woman who was renowned as “The Empress of the Blues” died tragically at age 43 on September 26, 1937, after being critically injured in an auto accident in Clarksdale, MS. She succumbed to her injuries because racism forced her to wait seven hours before anyone would treat her. Smith’s grave remained unmarked for 30 years until bisexual rock and roll icon purchased a headstone for her. Read more about Legacy Nominee at… https://legacyprojectchicago.org/person/bessie-smith

Today the Legacy Project commemorates the death of choreographer, muralist, dancer and erotic artist Dom Orejudos a.k.a. “ETIENNE” a.k.a. Stephen (The Tin Soldier, Metamorphosis of the Owls, The Gold Coast murals and International Mr. Leather contest posters) – whose ballet The Charioteer inaugurated color broadcast on WTTW in Chicago. This renowned artist – whose images are part of the very fabric of our cultural heritage – died of an AIDS-related illness at age 58 on September 24, 1991. Read more about at… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dom_Orejudos

AS SEEN ON THE LEGACY WALL…
Today the Legacy Project commemorates the death of BENJAMIN SUMNER WELLES – FDR’s Under Secretary of State and Co-Founder of what became the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (N.A.T.O.). Welles’s stellar career – during which he established FDR’s “Good Neighbor Policy” with Latin America and the Caribbean – was destroyed after a witch-hunt (conducted by closeted homosexual J. Edgar Hoover) confirmed that Welles, indeed, had a secret. He died on September 24, 1961 at age 68 in Bernardsville, NJ. To learn more about Benjamin check out… https://legacyprojectchicago.org/person/benjamin-sumner-welles.

HER DIARY WAS LIKE THE ROSETTA STONE…
Today the Legacy Project commemorates the death of landowner, diarist, and business woman ANNE LISTER – whose encoded diaries were deciphered to reveal intricate details about le***an life in 19th century Europe. While on holiday with her lover, Anne Walker, Lister died of a fever at age 49 on September 22, 1840 in what is now known as Kutaisi, Georgia. Read more about Legacy Nominee at… https://legacyprojectchicago.org/person/anne-lister

IN HONOR OF …
Today the Legacy Project celebrates the birth of gay Spanish poet LUIS CERNUDA (Selected Poems, Written in Water), who was a member of the avant-garde artists’ group known as “Generation of ’27”. Cernuda embraced his homosexuality at an early age and was the first widely-read Spanish-language poet to express homoeroticism openly and positively. He was born on September 21, 1902 in Seville, Spain. Read more about at… https://legacyprojectchicago.org/person/luis-cernuda

Today the Legacy Project commemorates the death of KING EDWARD II of England (a.k.a. Edward of Caernarfon) who ruled England from 1307-1327. Edward’s widely documented relationship with lover Piers Gaveston was one of the earliest examples of Medieval Europe’s religion-based same-sex joining ritual known as “Wedded Brotherhood,” which was modeled after the Catholic Rite of Marriage. King Edward was murdered by members of his inner circle at age 43 at Berkeley Castle on September 21, 1327 in Gloucestershire, England. To read more about go to… https://legacyprojectchicago.org/person/king-edward-ii

Today the Legacy Project commemorates the anniversary of the repeal of the law known colloquially as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” banning gay men, le***ans, and bisexuals from service in the United States military which, in 1994, replaced a Pentagon policy ban dating to World War II which President Bill Clinton had tried unsuccessfully to lift. After years of legal challenges and legislative efforts, President Barack Obama signed the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010 on December 22, 2010, which specified five requirements to be met before repeal could be implemented. They were: preparation by the DOD of a written plan for implementation that, in short, would not hurt the military’s mission, certifications in writing by the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to Congress that they had reviewed and approved the plan, and the passage of 60 days from the date of their certification during which Congress had not acted to block the Act. With completion of those requirements, repeal was implemented on September 20, 2011. In a prepared statement Obama said “Today, the discriminatory law known as ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ is finally and formally repealed. As of today, patriotic Americans in uniform will no longer have to lie about who they are in order to serve the country they love. As of today, our armed forces will no longer lose the extraordinary skills and combat experience of so many gay and le***an service members. And today, as Commander in Chief, I want those who were discharged under this law to know that your country deeply values your service.” Though Transgender service members were eventually allowed to serve under President Joe Biden, the actions taken by Donald Trump have not only once again banished qualified Transgender members but are expected to eventually reinstate the ban on gay services members, as well. To learn more about the history of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” check out…https://legacyprojectchicago.org/milestone/dont-ask-dont-tell-gays-military