News
2007-09-07
D.C.
activist Cheryl Ann Spector dies
Washington,
D.C.—based lesbian activist Cheryl Ann Spector died
Tuesday after a battle with acute myeloid leukemia.
Washington,
D.C.—based lesbian activist Cheryl Ann Spector died
Tuesday after a battle with acute myeloid leukemia.
She was 49.
She was diagnosed
with the disease in June and hospitalized for 10 weeks
with two rounds of chemotherapy, according to TheWashington Blade.
Spector sat on
the board of directors for the Rainbow History Project,
and committed 20 years toward LGBT activism. She was also
involved with several organizations including the
Human Rights Campaign, Servicemembers Legal Defense
Network, Queer Nation, and the Mautner Project.
According to the
Blade, Spector came out in 1982 and began
documenting the gay rights movement, including the first
AIDS candlelight vigil in 1983. She was also a key
coordinator for the 1987 and 1993 marches on
Washington.
“I just
remember standing on the Mall and crying," she told the
Blade in January. "I was watching them line the
walkways of the quilt—I couldn’t believe it.
It was a culmination—a real time for me to
start the healing process of losing [her brother]
Stan. Things started to take off after that.”
The activist will
be honored posthumously with the Mautner Project's
Unsung Hero Award on September 29. Her sister, Barbara
Spector Yeninas, will accept the award on her behalf.
She is survived
by Yeninas and her brothers Martin and Alan.
Her funeral will
take place September 30. (The Advocate)
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