03/20/2023
Wonder Woman! celebrating both the women who have impacted our world and GLBTQ+ history! We need more people who have awareness of our journey as a commUNITY!
RUTH SIMPSON / AUTHOR & ACTIVIST
From the “LGBT History & Chronicles” page.
Ruth Simpson (March 15, 1926 – May 8, 2008) was an author and LGBT activist.
In 1955 San Francisco Ruth founded and served as president of the Daughters of Bilitis, the first le***an rights organization in the United States, which hosted social functions, providing alternatives to le***an bars and clubs, which were frequently raided by police.
She was also editor of the Daughters of Bilitis publication "The Ladder" and founder of the United States' first le***an community center in New York.
Her book, ‘From the Closet to the Courts’ was published in 1977 and republished in 2007.
Ruth and her partner of 37 years, Ellen Povill, met at DOB and bought their home in Woodstock, New York, in 1976.
They immediately became active in their new community—Ellen as a videographer documenting local cultural events and programming them on Public-access television cable TV.
Ruth helped organize Woodstock's first gay group and launched a human rights ordinance drive in the town.
She also produced the weekly hour-long program "Minority Report" in Woodstock from 1982 until her death in 2008.
