Kameny

Frank Kameny in 2009

Franklin Edward "Frank" Kameny has died at 86. I owe a great deal to Mr. Kameny and his peers who braved rabid prejudice and came out as homosexuals in dark times, not unlike these. As a gay 19-year-old, sleeping in my car on the streets of Boston's Back Bay during weekends to escape an oppressive home, I met some of these men, who braved injustice and overt harassment daily in their jobs and families. They were my mentors and my lovers. Their strength inspired me and many like me to stand up for our human rights in a hostile society. We learned to walk quietly, be out everywhere and raise our heads high. Men like Frank Kameny gave us needed examples of liberation through adversity. I hope Frank Kameny was aware of the Occupy protests now occurring in American cities. His influence on society lives on wherever injustice is looked squarely in the eye with peaceful defiance.