Remembering Frank Kameny, civil rights pioneer

Frank Kameny, who died yesterday, was one of those Americans whom few people have heard of but who spent his time on the planet making the kind of good trouble that benefitted all of us. Kameny devoted his life to furthering civil rights, most especially for LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) people.

(From left to right) Former museum director Brent D. Glass, Frank Kameny, and Political History curator Harry Rubenstein

While he received recognition from many individuals and groups for his work, we in the museum hold a special place for those who not only make history but also preserve it along the way. The museum had the good fortune of being the recipient of some of his protest material. Kameny donated objects a few years ago and one poster is currently on display in the exhibition, The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden. His papers are at the Library of Congress, where some are also on display.

Kameny either instigated or participated in many of the important gay rights actions of the twentieth century. Organizing men to understand being gay as an identity—not as a sickness—Kameny started the Washington, D.C., chapter of the Mattachine Society in 1961. Calling out the federal government for discrimination, Kameny, Barbara Gittings, and a handful of others picketed the White House in 1965. Ending the American Psychiatric Association's stigmatization of homosexuality—Kameny and company forced that change, too.

Thanks, Frank. We have your history and it is part of everyone’s.

Katherine Ott is Curator in the Division of Medicine and Science at the National Museum of American History.

Caption: Protest signs on display in “The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden”

Editor’s Note: As the nation’s museum of American history, our mission is to include all Americans’ stories, our struggles, our accomplishments, our hopes, and our dreams. In addition to Kameny’s artifacts, the museum stewards important evidence of the struggle for civil rights in the United States, including the parlor table on which Elizabeth Cady Stanton drafted the Declaration of Sentiments at Seneca Falls in 1848, launching the women’s rights movement, and a portion of the Woolworth lunch counter from Greensboro, North Carolina, where four brave students in 1960 challenged racial segregation and began a sit in movement for equality. 

Comments

[Kevin Barrett]

Thanks for honoring such a great man. People like Frank are disappearing and I'm afraid there are not many in line to replace him and his passion. He will be greatly missed.

[greg@zetaclear]

I think it's very important for any community to remember its past, and its pioneers.

[Caroline Sound]

Sad to hear of his death but he must have made a lot of peoples lives so much the richer just by challenging sterotypes and backing those who perhaps didn't conform to the norm.
Good to see that he won't be forgotten and the museum can use the artefacts to keep his memory alive

[deg farrelly]

Does the Smithsonian collection include one of Frank's "Gay is Good" buttons?

I have one that he gave me at a Gay Liberation conference at Rutgers University in 1972.

Would it be a worthwhile addition to the collection?

[Don Charles "Stuffed Animal"]

It is an insult to the memory of Frank Kameny to say that he fought for the rights of "queer" people. Please remove that ignorant term from this blogpost immediately! It hails from the horrible years when most people believed LGBT folk were mentally ill. The overarching message of Frank Kameny's lifelong activism is that NO HUMAN BEING IS QUEER . . . we are all equal and deserving of respect!

[Karina Fernandez - Enigmas]

This man all his life fought for the rights of individuals and fairness among them. It has changed a little this world and opened the eyes of many, many more are missing but we are on track which is important. thanks

[David Murray]

I remember seeing Frank on late-night TV here in Chicago, shortly after I moved here from Pittsburgh. It was about 20 or 30 years before I recognized that I was gay and found the guts to come out. I admired Frank for what he was doing. And every time I saw someone like him on TV, or in person, it kind of legitimized the feelings I was having. At the time I was having only "back-alley" male sex, but here was a guy who was educated and spoke very clearly of what he thought the role of gay people in American society should be. I am in his debt... just as I am also indebted to Harvey Milk and others who had the courage to speak out.
Thank you, Frank, from someone who was in the closet for oh so long.
David

[Louisville MLS]

I had never heard of Frank Kameny before, but I enjoyed reading about his contributions to civil rights...

[Lethal Commissions]

I am sorry about the dead of Frank Kameny, he was a really good man, he improved the civil rights and helped lots of people to not feel different from the others =)

[Kb100flowers]

Thanks for this remembrance--it's good to see his achievement and his generosity celebrated by the museum.