[This just in from GLAD:]
GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) will honor LGBTQ rights and breast cancer activist, anti-poverty advocate, and political strategist Ann Maguire at its annual Summer Party in Provincetown on July 28. Celebrity emcee Varla Jean Merman will preside over the fête.
“Ann, an unofficial mayor of Provincetown, is someone whose activism has never been single-issue, and who has always kept her eye on how our multiple struggles for justice are related,” said Janson Wu, GLAD’s Executive Director. “That makes her the perfect honoree, and an inspiring role model, for these times.”
Maguire helped build the political and cultural infrastructure of the gay community when she worked at the Homophile Community Health Center in the 1970’s, hosted the groundbreaking radio show “GayWay” on WBUR from 1973-1980, and created safe spaces like the bar Sisters in Provincetown and the community space Somewhere in Boston.
Maguire wedded her activism to mainstream electoral politics, managing the winning campaigns of notable Massachusetts politicians like Representative Elaine Noble, who in 1974 became the country’s first openly gay or lesbian state level elected official. She helped Tom Menino become Mayor of Boston in 1993, and State Representative Sarah Peake to first become a Provincetown selectperson in 2002.
She is also a founder of both the Massachusetts and National Breast Cancer Coalitions and the Silent Spring Institute. Boston’s annual winter census of the homeless was Ann’s brainchild when she served as Boston’s Health and Human Services Director from 1987-1989. The model she devised is now used in cities across the country.
Maguire and her spouse and partner of over three decades, Harriet Gordon, now split their time between Provincetown and Marblehead, MA.
“I’m thrilled and humbled to be honored by GLAD,” said Ann. “I didn’t do any of this work by myself, and GLAD embodies the Margaret Mead quote I take as my motto: ‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.’”
GLAD’s 37th annual Summer Party will take place Saturday, July 28th from 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm at the Pilgrim Monument at 1 High Pole Hill Road in Provincetown. The event kicks off a celebration of the groundbreaking LGBTQ legal advocacy organization’s 40th anniversary.
The popular event includes spectacular views, an open bar, and delicious food. Children are welcome to attend at no charge and fun kids’ activities will be provided. The fabulous Varla Jean Merman will host an exciting live auction featuring custom art, travel packages, engaging family experiences, and more.
Tickets and more information are available at www.glad.org/events.
The 2018 Summer Party co-chairs are Richard D. McCarthy & Franc Castro, Scott Pomfret & Scott Whittier, Alix Ritchie & Marty Davis, TJ Walton and Katherine & Kimberly Weir.
Through strategic litigation, public policy advocacy, and education, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders works in New England and nationally to create a just society free of discrimination based on gender identity and expression, HIV status, and sexual orientation.
