Awardees (by year)
Our 2006 Awards
Vern Bullough
A pioneer of the gay American civil rights movement.
Vern Bullough
Vern Bullough, 1928-2006 a life long heterosexual, was a pioneer of the gay American civil rights movement. He was an historian, sexologist, professor, activist, nurse, and family man. Vern renounced being a Mormon as a teenager, and dedicated his life to science and understanding the human condition. Upon learning that his wife’s mother was a lesbian, Vern’s studies shifted to sexuality and a lifetime of activism on behalf of what would become the GLBT community. He became a board member of the ACLU’s Southern California chapter on the condition that they acknowledge homosexuality as a civil rights issue. He worked side by side with most of the LA gay pioneers, and sat with his wife Bonnie in a convertible in LA’s first gay pride parade. He wrote numerous books and articles about contraception, prostitution, transgenderism, and the religious persecution of sexual minorities, and was responsible for having early gay texts by Karl Ulrichs and Magnus Hirschfeld translated into English. Vern was accused by anti-sex Americans of being a pedophile, but successfully refuted their campaign of phobia. Truly a gentle man, Vern Bullough will be remembered in every book of gay American history as an ally in our battle for equality.
Randy Burns
Indian activist, author, speaker and leader for over 35 years.
Randy Burns
Randy Burns has been an Indian activist, author, speaker and leader for over 35 years. He founded Gay American Indians (GAI) in 1975, the first multicultural gay organization in the United States. He was Grand Marshall for the 2005 Pride Parade in San Francisco, and continues to address the concerns of Two-Spirit people, including homophobia within native communities. Randy is on the board of directors of the Native American Cultural Center and the Native American AIDS Project.
Richard Schneider, Jr.
Founded the Harvard Gay and Lesbian Review in 1994 and has remained its editor and de facto publisher ever since.
Richard Schneider, Jr.
Richard Schneider, Jr. received his Ph.D in sociology from Harvard, and then taught at the University of Maryland’s European Division. Upon returning to Boston, he became the Director of Research for a consulting firm. He founded the Harvard Gay and Lesbian Review in 1994 and has remained its editor and de facto publisher ever since. Renamed the Gay and Lesbian Review / Worldwide, it is widely regarded as the leading LGBT cultural and intellectual journal in the U.S. The publication features articles and reviews on literature, history, politics, and homophobia. https://glreview.org [f]
Pam Spaulding
One of the few black lesbian bloggers in the country and her coverage of issues affecting the LGBT community.
Pam Spaulding
Considered one of the most important bloggers in America, Pam Spaulding issues incisive daily news and commentary on critical issues with a focus on LGBT equality and monitoring the anti-gay radical religious right. Her site, Pam’s House Blend, (www.pamshouseblend.com) which draws more than 3,000 unique visitors per day, won Best LGBT Blog in the 2005 Weblog Awards. She is one of the few black lesbian bloggers in the country and her coverage of issues affecting the LGBT community, including rare reporting of homophobia in the Black Church, makes her blog a daily must read. She resides in Durham, North Carolina with her wife, Kate. www.pamshouseblend.com [f]
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Paul Monette papers, 1945-1995
UCLA, Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library