"May you live in interesting times" - Alleged Chinese curse
I grew up in very interesting times. The civil rights movement, the peace movement, the counterculture, the sexual revolution, the feminist movement and the gay liberation movement were all happening around me as I grew up in Queens and Brooklyn, New York. I became radicalized by listening to WBAI, the Pacifica Radio affiliate in NYC. I wanted to be part of the struggle. I couldn't wait until I graduated from high school. On top of that, I was becoming aware of my own homosexuality. Thanks, in part, to hearing proud gay activists on WBAI and on the Alex Bennett program on WMCA, I came out at the end of Junior High School. In 1971, I hitchhiked to Washington, DC for the April 24th antiwar demonstration and the May Day civil disobedience protests. While I was there I attended a gay demonstration against the American Psychiatric Association to get them to change their diagnosis of homosexuality, a campaign which succeeded in 1973.
In the fall of 1971, at the age of 15, I ran away from home to join the movement. I became an active member of the Gay Activists Alliance. In 1974, when I was 18, I moved to San Francisco. Together with Howard Wallace, I helped to create Bay Area Gay Liberation (BAGL).
Below is a brief summary of my activist history:
Claude Wynne
740A 14th Street
PMB# 239
San Francisco, CA 94114
claudew@claudesplace.comActivist History
Joined the Gay Activists Alliance of New York in September of 1971. Member of Gay Activists Alliance Speakers’ Bureau which spoke to high school and college students about being gay and the gay rights struggle. Participated in walk from NYC to Albany in 1972 for statewide gay rights legislation. Lobbied delegates to 1972 Democratic National Convention in Miami for gay rights plank in the platform. Founding Member of Gay Rights Action Coalition which organized March and Rally for NYC gay rights bill.
Helped organize protest against KGO-TV (ABC) for anti-gay episode of Marcus Welby, MD called "The Outrage" about the rape of a teenage boy by a male teacher. Helped organize successful campaign to get columnist Herb Caen to stop using anti-gay epithets in his column. Founding Member of Bay Area Gay Liberation (BAGL). Organized support in the gay and lesbian community for United Farm Workers boycott. Actively campaigned for gay and lesbian support of the Coors Beer boycott. Helped organize and chaired meeting of 1200 people to organize response to Anita Bryant’s anti-gay campaign in Miami. Chaired a historic press conference of leaders of the labor and LGBT movements in San Francisco pledging mutual support. Founding Member of the Coalition to Defend Gays in the Military. Key organizer of the Bay Area Committee Against the Briggs Initiative (BACABI). Helped organize "Stonewall to Dreamland" benefit dance for SF Lesbian and Gay Freedom Day Committee. Active member of Harvey Milk Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club and Alice B Toklas Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club. Member of Coalition For Human Rights, a coalition of over 50 LGBT organizations, formed in early 1980s, in part to deal with AIDS crisis. Participated in Harvey Milk Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club's efforts to disseminate AIDS educational pamphlets dealing with safe sex. Founding Member of the Committee to Preserve Our Sexual and Civil Liberties.
In the mid 1980s, I took a class in the BASIC computer programming language at the suggestion of a friend. I immediately knew that I had found my calling. At age 30, I had finally discovered what I wanted to be when I grew up! It soon became apparent that I didn't have the time to devote to both political activity and learning everything that I needed to know in order to make a career out of computers. I gradually transferred the energy and commitment I had shown for politics to computer technology and programming.
In March of 2002 I was laid off after 21 years at the same company. After two years of being unemployed or working temp jobs I got a long term temporary non-tech office job that should become permanent soon. I now have more time and energy to devote to this site.