For Immediate Release
August 29, 2008

Contact: Paul Boneberg, (415) 777-5455 x6

MAUPIN AND ACTIVIST GROUPS TO BE HONORED BY GLBT HISTORICAL SOCIETY

San Francisco, CA – August 29, 2008 – The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Transgender (GLBT) Historical Society announced today that author Armistead Maupin and two groups of activists who coordinated the fight against the 1978 Briggs Initiative will receive the 2008 Walker Award at its annual Gala event on October 9.

Maupin and representatives from the Bay Area Coalition Against the Briggs Initiative (BACABI) and The No on 6 Committee will be presented the Walker Award on October 9 at the GLBT Historical Society’s annual Gala event. This year’s event theme is “Modern History: From Milk to Marriage" and the event program will celebrate 30 Years of GLBT from 1978-2008.

Named after Willie Walker, a co-founder of the GLBT Historical Society who passed away in 2004, the Walker Award honors individuals who have made a significant contribution to the civic, cultural and political life of the GLBT community. Past awardees have included Billie Jean King, the first woman named Sports Illustrated “Sportsperson of the Year”; Esera Tuaolo, the NFL all-star who played in the Super Bowl; and Phyllis Lyon and the late Del Martin, founders of the Daughter of Bilitis. In 2007, the organization presented the award to Dr. Margarethe (Grethe) Cammermeyer, PhD, RN, Colonel, USA, for her leadership in the fight against the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.

In 1976, Maupin’s “Tales of the City” serial in the San Francisco Chronicle was the first gay-themed fiction to ever appear in an American daily newspaper. The publication of "Tales of the City" in book form in 1978 marked a cultural turning point that many believe helped to launch the past 30 years of political and social progress for the GLBT community.

In 1978, the Briggs Initiative was a measure on the California State ballot that would have banned gays and lesbians from working in California's public schools. The failed initiative followed similar legislation that had passed in Oklahoma and Arkansas, and followed the highly explosive campaign to repeal one of the first gay rights ordinances in the U.S in Dade County, Florida that was led by Anita Bryant.

As part of the Gala, the GLBT Historical Society will also preview several key pieces from their upcoming exhibit scheduled to open at 18th & Castro streets later this fall. The exhibit will feature historic photographs, objects and documents that chronicle the evolution of the GLBT community in San Francisco, and the emergence of the Castro as the nation’s “Gay Mecca.”

“Armistead Maupin and the groups that organized against the Briggs Initiative are both such pivotal figures in GLBT history. They are a perfect fit for our Walker Award this year as we take a moment to look back on thirty years of GLBT history in San Francisco.” said Paul Boneberg, the Executive Director of the GLBT Historical Society.