Edith Windsor (1929 - 2017)

Edith Windsor, called Edie, was born in 1929, the youngest of three children, to James and Celia Schlain in Philadelphia. Her parents were immigrants from Russia who owned and lived above a candy and ice cream store, both lost during the depression. Despite hard times, her parents valued their children’s education, making financial sacrifices to buy them books and send them to college.

Edie was a very attractive young lady, dating many boys in high school. But during college at Temple University, she became aware of her homosexuality. In the 1950s, afraid to live her life as a gay person, Edie married her brother’s best friend. Within a year, she confided to him that she longed to be with women, and they parted amicably.

Edie moved to New York City, hoping to find other gay people. However, Edie was uncomfortable with gay life in New York City in the 1950s, outwardly a part of the rough gay bar scene in New York that frequently was raided by the police. She studied applied mathematics and received a master’s degree from New York University in 1955. She was one of the very few women at the heart of the revolution in computer programming, working for IBM starting in 1958 and becoming a senior systems programmer. Edie received the first IBM PC delivered in New York City, and in 1987 was honored by the National Computing Conference as a pioneer in operating  systems. After leaving IBM, she founded and became president of PC Classics, Inc, a software house specializing in consulting and major software development projects.

At a West Village restaurant, she met Thea Spyer, a PhD psychologist and an accomplished violinist whose family fled Amsterdam ahead of Hitler’s invasion. Two years later, in 1967, they began what turned out to be a very long engagement Thea proposed to Edie with a diamond pin, because a ring would have prompted unwelcome questions. Edie and Thea kept a low profile, leading a life typical of upwardly mobile professional couples in Manhattan, hosting dinner parties for friends, traveling, and spending summer weekends at their beach house in South Hampton. But life changed when Thea developed multiple sclerosis. In 1977, Edie left IBM to care for Thea, who gradually became quadriplegic.

The AIDS crisis in the 1980s built solidarity among the gay community. Although Edie largely kept her private life secret in the past, she now decided to volunteer for many gay rights organizations. Numerous awards attest to her advocacy over more than two decades, including an award named for her: the Edie Windsor Equality Award.

Windsor and Spyer registered as domestic partners when it became possible in New York in the 1990s. In 2007, when Thea’s medical condition became terminal, they traveled to Canada to officially marry, accompanied by three health aides and a small group of close friends. Their marriage in Toronto, as well as their decades-long devotion, is chronicled in an award-winning documentary titled: Edie and Thea—A very Long Engagement.

Thea died in 2009. A short time later, Edie suffered a serious heart attack, leaving her in fragile health with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator.

When Spyer died, she left her entire estate to Windsor, primarily her share in the couple’s New York apartment. However, in 1996, Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act, defining marriage for all federal purposes as a union between a man and a woman. Despite being married in Canada and having a domestic partnership in New York, DOMA prohibited Edie from the benefit of a tax exemption for surviving spouses, resulting in a federal estate tax bill of more than $300,000. In 2010, at age 81, Windsor decided to challenge the unfair tax in court.

She met lawyer Roberta Kaplan, also a Jewish lesbian, who agreed to take her case. They became close friends while working on the case, celebrating Jewish holidays together with Kaplan’s family. After two lower court victories, her case was accepted by the Supreme Court. Windsor’s case had the backing of many Jewish organizations, including the Anti-defamation League, Hadassah, and the Conservative and Reform movements.

The Supreme Court victory for Edith Windsor was a landmark victory for gay marriage, declaring DOMA—which excluded gay married couples from over 1,000 federal provisions—unconstitutional. The decision marked the first time that the U.S. federal government recognized same sex marriage. Gay couples now could file joint tax returns, get access to veteran’s and Social Security benefits, hold on to their homes when their spouses died, and get green cards for their foreign spouses.

After the Supreme Court victory, worshipers packed Congregation Beit Simchat Torah in Manhattan for Friday night services to celebrate. Kaplan and Windsor spoke, comparing their efforts to the daughters of Zelophehad in the Torah, women who fought for their inheritance rights and won. “Inherent in Jewish belief is the view that people, communities, and even the law must and should change when times and ethical circumstances require it,” said Kaplan.

Now Edith Windsor’s living room was filled with mementos of a battle she never expected to fight, including a pile of thank-you letters and a photo of Michelle Obama giving her a congratulatory hug. In 2013, Edie was named one of the Forward 50 most important Jewish people and was nominated for Time Magazine’s Person of the Year. Her life is an inspiration to all seniors that it is never too late to make a difference!

On September 26, 2016, Windsor married Judith Kasen at New York City Hall. At the time of the wedding, Windsor was age 87 and Kasen was age 51.

On September 12, 2017, Windsor's wife Judith Kasen-Windsor confirmed that Windsor had died in Manhattan, but did not specify a cause.  Former US President Bill Clinton, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, California US Senator Dianne Feinstein, and various politicians and celebrities posted words of tribute on their Twitter accounts.^[1] Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke at her funeral.

Among Windsor’s many accomplishments and awards are:

Award	Presented by	Date	Notes
Joyce Warshaw Lifetime Achievement Award	Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE)	October 25, 2010
Trailblazer in Law Award	Marriage Equality New York	May 19, 2011
Roger Baldwin Medal of Liberty	American Civil Liberties Union	June 11, 2011
New York City Council Award	New York City Council	June 16, 2011	Presented during council's Gay Pride celebrati
Edie Windsor & Thea Spyer Equality Award	The LOFT	2012
Susan B. Anthony Award	National Organization for Women New York City	February 15, 2012
Visionary Award	NewFest	2012
Trailblazer Award	New York City LGBT Community Center	April 11, 2013
Eugene J. Keogh Award for Distinguished Public Service at New York University	New York University	May 22, 2013
Presidential Medal	New York University	May 24, 2013
Keeping Faith Award	American Constitution Society for Law & Policy	September 17, 2013
Lifetime Leadership Award	National Gay & Lesbian Task Force	October 8, 2013
Trailblazer of Democracy Award	The Eleanor Roosevelt Legacy Award	October 11, 2013
Individual Leadership Award	PFLAG	October 14, 2013
Alumni Achievement Award	New York University Graduate School of Arts and Science	October 18, 2013
American Spirit Award for Citizen Activism	Common Good Award	November 13, 2013
Out 100 – Lifetime Achievement Award	Out	November 13, 2013
The Imperial Diamond Award for Vision – Support – Activism	Imperial Court System New York	March 29, 2014
Ovation Award	Olivia Cruises	2014
Laurel Hester Award	Gay Officers Action League (GOAL) – New York	April 25, 2014	[
Women's Rights Award	American Federation of Teachers (AFT)	July 14, 2014
Named by Equality Forum as one of their 31 Icons of the 2015 LGBT History Month	Equality Forum	2015

Windsor was honored by the National Computing Conference in 1987 as a "pioneer in operating systems.

A 2009 documentary, Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement, by Susan Muska and Greta Olfsdottir, documents Windsor and Spyer's life and wedding. The DVD of the film contains a full-length interview with Justice Harvey Brownstone, the Canadian judge who officiated at the Windsor/Spyer wedding.

She was a runner-up, to Pope Francis, for 2013 Time Person of the Year.

In 2016, Lesbians Who Tech initiated the Edie Windsor Coding Scholarship Fund

In 2018, a block of South 13th Street in Philadelphia was designated as Edie Windsor Way.

In June 2019, Windsor was one of the inaugural fifty American "pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes" inducted on the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor within the Stonewall National Monument (SNM) in New York City's Stonewall Inn  The SNM is the first U.S. national monument dedicated to LGBTQ rights and history.  Tthe Wall's unveiling was timed to take place during the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots..

The information above came largely from:

(1)  The LOFT: LGBTQ+ Community Center

https://www.loftgaycenter.org/edie_windsor

252 Bryant Avenue
White Plains, NY 10605
(914) 948-2932

 

(2)  Wikipedia      The Free Encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Windsor

                       

Judy Heumann was an internationally recognized advocate for the rights of disabled people. She was widely regarded as “the mother” of the Disability Rights Movement. At 18-months-old, Judy contracted polio in Brooklyn, New York and began to use a wheelchair for mobility. She was denied the right to attend school at the age of five because she was considered a "fire hazard." Later in life, Judy was denied her teaching license by the same school district. After passing her oral and written exams, she was failed on her medical exam because she could not walk. Judy sued the New York Board of Education and Judge Constance Baker Motley (the first Black female federal judge) strongly suggested the board reconsider. They did and Judy went on to become the first wheelchair user to teach in the state of New York.

In 1977, Judy was a leader in the historic 504 Sit-In in San Francisco. This 26-day protest (the longest sit-in at a federal building to date) led to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act being signed into law. Judy was instrumental in the development and implementation of other legislation including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. These pieces of legislation have been integral in advancing the inclusion of disabled people in the US and around the world.

From 1993 to 2001, Judy served in the Clinton Administration as the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in the Department of Education. Judy then served as the World Bank's first Adviser on Disability and Development from 2002 to 2006. In this position, she led the World Bank's disability work to expand its knowledge and capability to work with governments and civil society on including disability in the global conversation. In 2010, President Obama appointed Judy as the first Special Advisor for International Disability Rights at the U.S. Department of State, where she served until 2017.  Mayor Fenty of D.C. appointed Judy as the first Director for the Department on Disability Services, where she was responsible for the Developmental Disability Administration and the Rehabilitation Services Administration. She also was a Senior Fellow at the Ford Foundation, where she produced the white paper Road Map for Inclusion.

Judy was a founding member of the Berkeley Center for Independent Living which was the first grassroots center in the United States and helped to launch the Independent Living Movement both nationally and globally. In 1983, Judy co-founded the World Institute on Disability (WID) with Ed Roberts and Joan Leon, as one of the first global disability rights organizations founded and continually led by people with disabilities that works to fully integrate people with disabilities into the communities around them via research, policy, and consulting efforts. Throughout her life, Judy served on a number of non-profit boards, including the American Association of People with Disabilities, the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Humanity and Inclusion, Human Rights Watch, United States International Council on Disability, and Save the Children. 

Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist, written by Judy with co-author Kristen Joiner, was published by Beacon Press in 2020. Following in 2021 was the Young Adult version, Rolling Warrior. Both audiobooks are read by Ali Stroker, the first wheelchair user to perform on Broadway. After a four studio bidding war, Being Heumann’s movie adaptation will be done by Apple TV+ with producer David Permut (Hacksaw Ridge) and writer/director Sian Heder (Academy Award Winning ‘Best Picture’ CODA).

Judy is featured in Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution, the 2020 award winning, Oscar-nominated documentary film, directed by James LeBrecht and Nicole Newnham and produced by the Obama Higher Ground Production Company. She has been featured in numerous other documentaries on the history of the disability rights movement, including Lives Worth Living and the Power of 504. She delivered a TED talk in 2016, “Our Fight for Disability Rights- and Why We’re Not Done Yet”. Her story was also told on Comedy Central’s Drunk History in early 2018, in which she was portrayed by Ali Stroker. In 2020, Judy was featured on the Trevor Noah show. She also hosted an award-winning podcast called The Heumann Perspective, featuring a variety of members from the disability community. 

Judy graduated from Long Island University in Brooklyn, NY in 1969 and received her Master’s in Public Health from the University of California at Berkeley in 1975. She was awarded several honorary doctorate degrees from universities across the United States including New York University, University of Pittsburgh, Middlebury College, and Smith College. She also received numerous awards including being the first recipient of the Henry B. Betts Award in recognition of efforts to significantly improve the quality of life for people with disabilities and the Max Starkloff Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Council on Independent Living. 

Judy Heumann passed away on March 4th, 2023 at the age of 75. News of her passing was reported on by major outlets in the United States and around the world.   Judy Heumann passed away on March 4th, 2023 at the age of 75. Stay up-to-date on projects in Judy’s honor by following Judy Heumann Legacy on Instagram and Facebook or subscribing to the Judy Heumann Newsletter.

  Learn more about the life and work of Judy:             https://judithheumann.com/

Paula J. Caplan was a clinical and research psychologist, author of books and plays, playwright, actor, director, and activist. She was born  July 7, 1947,  and raised in Springfield, Missouri; attended Greenwood Laboratory School; received her A.B. with honors from Radcliffe College of Harvard University; and received her M.A. and Ph.D. in psychology from Duke University. She was an Associate at the Du Bois Institute, Hutchins Center for African and African American Research, Harvard University at the time of her death.  She had been a Fellow at the Women and Public Policy Program of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard; a Lecturer in Harvard's Program on Women, Gender, and Sexuality and in the Psychology Department. She was a former Full Professor of Applied Psychology and Head of the Centre for Women's Studies in Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education; and former Lecturer in Women's Studies and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto.

In regard to her expertise in psychology and in women's studies, as well as her political/social action work, she appeared on many major network talk and news shows.

 She gave hundreds of invited addresses to a wide variety of community and academic groups. She was interviewed frequently for the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Time, Newsweek, US News and World Report, and Psychology Today.

Among her plays, "Shades" (secret wounds that only love can heal) won the Pen & Brush New Plays Contest; "Call Me Crazy" (about the questions "Is anybody normal? And who gets to decide?") won second place in the 1997 Arlene and William Lewis Playwriting Contest for Women and other awards; and "The Test" (based on the poignant, true story of two men on Death Row) was published by Samuel French in its collection of winners of its 2001 Off-Off-Broadway New, Short Plays Competition. Her screenplay for "The Test" was made into a video that won the Alliance for Community Media-New England Film Festival and has been screened in numerous other festivals and various other venues.  The number of books she authored or co-authored is in the double digits.

Before Paula passed away, July 21, 2021, she formed a nonprofit organization called Picture Social Justice (PSJ). The mission of PSJ is to promote social justice equity through film and television. Paula's vision was simple: raise awareness, educate, and advocate for those adversely affected by social injustice.

Not only was Paula the founder of Picture Social Justice, but she was the heart-and-soul of the latest film project, Execution by the Numbers. As you can imagine, Paula's untimely death interrupted efforts to complete the film project. But Paula's vision and body of work are too vital to the social justice community for it to be abandoned, so  plans for completion have moved forward.

For more details of Dr. Paula Caplan’s life and work go to :

Paula Joan Caplan (July 7, 1947 - July 21, 2021) - Home (paulajcaplan.net)

 

 

 

 

 

 In September, 2023, a memorial was held in New York City to honor the life and work of Joan Love. There were speakers, years-old video footage of Love’s speeches, media coverage, tributes, and more.  A feminist activist, Barbara fought for gay rights and for lesbians to have a voice in the early days of the women's movement.

Barbara Joan Love was born into an affluent and conservative family in Ridgewood, New Jersey, in 1937.  She and her two brothers grew up with a maid and chauffeur and Sunday dinner at the country club.  In her 2021 memoir, "There at the Dawning: Memories of a Lesbian Feminist", she described it as "upper-middle-class comfort".  In high school, she was a competitive swimmer and won several state championships. She graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in journalism and had hoped to join her father's company, but he didn't think women were qualified to run a business.  Instead, she worked in publishing as an editor.

In her early 20s Barbara registered as a Democrat, the first person in her family for generations to do so..  She began her activism in the late '50s as a closeted young woman in Greenwich Village, haunting the city's Mafia-run lesbian bars.  In those days these bars were often raided by the police.  A blinking red light signaled the police's arrival.  Officers then warned the women not to dance or touch or they would be arrested.

Love was convinced by a girlfriend to cut her hair and dress more like a man.  One evening their car broke down and a group of male thugs stopped to help them.  Seeing her masculine appearance, the thugs beat her bloody.  In those pre-Stonewall days, if you were discovered to be gay, you could be openly harassed, attacked, and/or discriminated against in all sorts of ways.  Your own parents might turn on you.  Until 1973, the American Psychiatric Association considered homosexuality a mental illness.

But times were changing, and Barbara felt empowered.  At age 33 she finally came out to her family.  

Love was on what is now known as the National LGBTQ Task Force for 10 years and co-founded the New York-based Identity House with activists and therapists to help LGBTQ people find acceptance. She was involved in the establishment of PFLAG, an organization dedicated to the support and education of LGBTQ individuals and their families, which helped Love’s mother accept her.  Her mother then participated with her in marches and other gay rights activities.

She forged lifelong friendships with those fighting for the same rights of recognition and equality for all, in her work with the National Gay Task Force; with the formation of Identity House; advocating for the recognition of lesbianism as a feminist issue by the National Organization for Women (NOW); as a board member of Veteran Feminists of America; and as an author of important works, from the first non-fiction book to put lesbianism in a positive light, Sappho was a Right On Woman: A Liberated View of Feminism (1972), to the record of many women and men who took news making actions in protest for change in the encyclopedic, Feminists Who Changed America: 1963-1975, and other books.