A Woman to Know: Althea Garrison
I don't have time for this today. — Althea Gibson, hanging up on a reporter asking questions about her gender identity
(image via Wikimedia Commons)
Althea kept losing. In 1991, after 10 failed bids for office, Althea ran again: this time, as a Republican, for a seat in the Massachusetts state legislature. After just one year in office, however, a vicious article revealed the one secret she'd kept hidden for decades: Althea had been born a man. After the shocking revelations, Althea lost reelection in 1995; but she didn't end her political career.
In 2001, she ran to be Boston mayor.
In 2002, she ran in a special election for a Massachusetts Senate seat.
In 2003 and 2005, she ran for Boston city council.
In 2006, she ran again for the Massachusetts State House.
In 2010, she again ran for Boston city council.
Today, she's celebrated as the country's first transgender woman elected to a state legislature.
Add to your library list:
Out and Running: Gay and Lesbian Candidates (Donald P. Haiser-Markel)
Read more:
Electing trans officials: A new frontier in politics (The Washington Blade)
Queer and trans trailblazers who made political history (Autostraddle)
Missing in action: Althea Gibson (The Boston Banner)
What it's like to be the first openly trans mayor in Texas (Refinery29)
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