This June 6, the call Google Doodle Today celebrates the work of the activist lesbian, feminist and Chicana author Jeanne Córdova. Google has dedicated the search engine logo to the leader and pioneer of the LGBTQ+ rights movement.
Within the framework of pride month, this tribute seeks to offer a glimpse into the life and work carried out by Córdova. Woman notable for playing a crucial role in organizing events and protests in favor of women’s rights. community and other minorities. Highlighting her participation during the decades from 1970 to 1990 for the rights of lesbian women.
She was born on July 18, 1948 in Bremerhaven, Germany, however she entered the convent of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Santa Barbara, California, United States. Questioning her sexuality and becoming dissatisfied with the Catholic Church, she began her career as an activist in 1970 by joining the Los Angeles chapter of the organization. rights of lesbians, in which she soon after became president.
In 1971, the newsletter Daughters of Bilitis (DOB) edited by Córdova, evolved to become The Lesbian Tide, the first of five publications she founded and which served as a North American reference for the lesbian feminist generation. In that same year she was a key organizer at several events including the West Coast Lesbian Conference.
It was in 1981, when Córdova founded the Community Yellow Pagesa publication that became the largest LGBTQ+ directory in the US. He also co-founded the magazine Square Pegdedicated to culture and literature queer.
Córdova dedicated much of his time to activism and community organizing, participating in the National Conference of the Feminist Organization Lesbian 1978 and in the campaign to defeat California’s 1986 Proposition 64, which would force HIV-positive people to quarantine. She also served on the board of directors of several organizations, including the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Press Association.
In 1999, and together with his partner Lynn Harris Ballen, he moved to Baja California Sur, Mexico. In her new home, the activist wrote her book When We Were Outlaws: A Memoir of Love and Revolution. In it, she recounts a raw and intimate chronicle of a young activist through a rare glimpse into the life of a radical lesbian during the early cultural struggles over rights. rights of the homosexualswomen’s liberation and the new left of the seventies.
Later, she and Ballen also co-founded the first nonprofit in their city dedicated to education and literacy of the kids. Already in 2008, she founded LEX, The Lesbian Exploratoriuma nonprofit organization dedicated to culture and the history.
In that same year, Jeanne donated her manuscripts, articlesletters and publications to ONE. In addition, he defended the creation of the permanent exhibition of lesbian publications, Lesbian Legacy Wall. In addition, created the exhibition GenderPlay in Lesbian Culture at the ONE Gallery in 2009.
In the words of her partner Lynn Harris Ballen, Jeanne wrote:
“It is the job of young people to expand the boundaries of society” and he started doing it early and never stopped doing it. Everyone who was touched by Jeanne’s life and work knew her as a charismatic activist, and there was no aspect of her life, whether social work, business or journalism, that was not defined by what she could do for others. Lesbians, other Chicanas, other people were pushed to the margins of society.”
Before he died, he said in a letter about death to his community: “It is wonderful to have had a cause in life: the freedom and dignity of lesbians. I think that’s what lesbian feminism is really about, sharing. We build a movement by telling each other our lives and thoughts about what life should be like.”
