Del Martin, a woman who spent over fifty years fighting for LGBT and women's rights, has died in San Francisco. She was 87.
Martin, who was born in 1921 as Dorothy Taliaferro, was known as "Del." After studying journalism at the University of California at Berkeley and San Francisco State College (now San Francisco State University), she married James Martin. Two years later, she gave birth to their daughter, Kendra. The marriage ended in divorce.
An Illicit Affair
In 1950, Martin met Phyllis Lyon, who worked at the same publication firm as she, in Seattle. They became lovers in 1952, and moved in together on Valentine's Day in San Francisco a year later. In 1955, they bought a home, in which they continued to live until the present.
She and Lyon founded the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB) in 1955 in San Francisco with six other lesbians. The group was named after a book of lesbian love poetry. This marked the beginning of a long career as an activist for Martin.
Daughters of Bilitis
The Daughters of Bilitis had been created to provide mutual support (in secret) and social activities. According to an obituary published by Equality California, DOB was the first public and political lesbian rights organization in this country. It laid the groundwork for the women's movement, and the gay and lesbian liberation movements of the 1970s, continuing through today.
The Ladder
Martin, a talented speaker and writer, was the first president of DOB. She was also the second editor - after Phyllis Lyon - of The Ladder, DOB's "groundbreaking" monthly magazine. In the early Sixties, she took on the cultural forces of the time with writings such as, "Nothing was ever accomplished by hiding in a dark corner. Why not discard the hermitage for the heritage that awaits any red-blooded American woman who dares to claim it?"
The Ladder, which had begun as a mimeographed newsletter in 1956, became internationally recognized and by the 1970s had thousands of subscribers. Martin not only contributed editorials; she wrote short stories and missives, including the famous, "If That's All There Is," which condemns sexism in the gay liberation movement (1970). Because of her influence, The Ladder addressed misogyny even before the women's rights movement.
Martin's last public act was to marry Lyon, her partner of 55 years, on June 16, 2008, in California.
In an alert, Dr. Delores A. Jacobs, CEO of The San Diego LGBT Community Center (The Center), wrote, "Del Martin was a hero to the LGBT community for decades. An activist, a diplomat, a warrior for civil rights, a kind, funny woman and, finally, a legally recognized spouse to the woman she loved for 55 years, Del helped our community grow and find its place in the world. That world will be a poorer place without her. Her strength and dedication will be missed."
