On December 29, we lost one of our heroes with the passing of longtime LGBTQ+ and health care advocate Ann Maguire. In 2017, Fenway Health honored Maguire with the prestigious Dr. Susan M. Love Award at their annual Women’s Dinner gala.
An out lesbian with the ear of the Bay State’s political elite beginning in the 1970s, Maguire architected much of the political infrastructure of the gay rights movement in Massachusetts. She also pioneered access to LGBT and women’s health care, and was the founding president of the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition, as well as the founding vice-president of the National Breast Cancer Coalition.
Recalls Fenway, in a recent press release:
Ann began her career in public service as the campaign manager for Elaine Noble, who in 1974 won a seat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, becoming the first openly gay person elected to a state-level office in the United States.
Ann served as the Boston Mayor’s Liaison to the LGBT Community from 1984 to 1987. During the 1980s, she also served on the Board of Fenway Health, was Co-Chair of the Massachusetts Lesbian & Gay Political Caucus, and was a Founding Member and Vice Chair of the Boston Lesbian & Gay Political Alliance.
For decades, Ann has worked to increase breast cancer awareness and research. She was a founding member and served as Vice President of the National Breast Cancer Coalition and President of the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition. In 1993, she was a founder of the Silent Spring Institute to study environmental links to breast cancer.
Ann has also been a tireless advocate for people experiencing homelessness. She developed the first census of unhoused people in Boston, which remains a model for major American cities to this day. She has volunteered with shelters such as Rosie’s Place and the Pine Street Inn, developed a food pantry, and served on the board Helping Our Women (HOW) offers direct services to Cape Cod women battling chronic and life-threatening illness and disabling conditions.
The full story of Ann’s extraordinary legacy can be viewed in the documentary Ann Maguire: An American Hero, which premiered in Provincetown in the fall of 2016.
Ann will be missed by all of us who knew her.
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