Jean O'Leary Biography

Jean O'Leary was born upon March 4, 1948, in Kingston, New York, to parents Elizabeth O'Leary and also John O'Leary. Elevated in a passionate Catholic family, she was enlightened in Catholic schools throughout her young people. After finishing her high school education and learning, O'Leary signed up with the Sisters of the Holy Humility of Mary order, where she would certainly work as a novitiate for numerous years.

In the late 1960s, O'Leary started experiencing a sense of confusion concerning her confidence and her sexuality. As a result, she chose to leave the religious order and seek higher education. She participated in the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C., where she would gain a psychology degree. It was throughout this duration that O'Leary would pertain to accept her homosexuality and also come to be associated with LGBT legal rights activism.

O'Leary's initial foray right into activism occurred when she signed up with the Gay Activists Alliance (GAA) in 1971. That exact same year, O'Leary would take place to end up being the first openly lesbian delegate at the Democratic National Convention. In 1972, she and a number of other participants of the GAA formed the Lesbian Feminist Liberation (LFL) as an action to the sexism they experienced within the GAA.

Jean O'Leary would come to be referred to as an innovator within the LGBT civil liberties activity. In 1977, O'Leary turned into one of the co-directors of the National Gay as well as Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF), together with fellow activist Bruce Voeller. Serving in this capacity up until 1979, O'Leary worked tirelessly in her initiatives to influence public law and lobbying for LGBT legal rights.

Throughout the exact same period, O'Leary had the ability to attain a significant landmark in the defend LGBT visibility. In a historical meeting, she as well as several various other LGBT civil liberties leaders consulted with President Jimmy Carter's management to go over issues impacting the gay as well as lesbian community. This marked the very first time a U.S. President had formally met LGBT leaders.

In 1980, O'Leary started the non-profit organization Lesbian Rights Project, which would certainly later on be renamed as Lambda Gender Rights, devoted to advancing equal rights for lesbians with a concentrate on parenting as well as custodianship issues. As a result of their efforts, they succeeded in impacting favorable change in regulations and social attitudes influencing LGBT individuals.

Throughout the 1980s and also 1990s, O'Leary remained to be involved in different facets of advocacy as well as national politics, including acting as a Delegate to the Democratic National Convention. She was instrumental in the foundation of National Coming Out Day, a yearly event observed on October 11th, which urges members of the LGBT neighborhood to freely reveal their sexuality as well as advertise acceptance.

Jean O'Leary was identified with lung cancer in 2004 and shed her battle with the illness on June 4, 2005, at the age of 57. Her legacy as a pioneering activist and advocate for the lesbian and also gay community stays undiminished. Her job assisted form popular opinion and contributed to substantial policy adjustments, paving the way for the proceeded advancement of LGBT civil liberties in the 21st century.

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Related authors: Jimmy Carter (President), Lawrence Taylor (Athlete)