She was old and black and poor and gay, and happily herself. — Dudley Clendinen (image via Nancy Andrews) For entire decades, Ruth Ellis made headlines as "the oldest surviving lesbian." At 80 years of living openly as a gay woman in Detroit, journalists marveled at her tenacity. Ruth and her partner, "Babe" Franklin, turned their home into a salon for the LGBTQ community, known as "the gay spot" amongst Detroit visitors.
A Woman to Know: Ruth Ellis
A Woman to Know: Ruth Ellis
A Woman to Know: Ruth Ellis
She was old and black and poor and gay, and happily herself. — Dudley Clendinen (image via Nancy Andrews) For entire decades, Ruth Ellis made headlines as "the oldest surviving lesbian." At 80 years of living openly as a gay woman in Detroit, journalists marveled at her tenacity. Ruth and her partner, "Babe" Franklin, turned their home into a salon for the LGBTQ community, known as "the gay spot" amongst Detroit visitors.