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Founded in NYC in 1992, The Lesbian Avengers began as a direct action group focused on issues vital to lesbian survival and visibility.

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In September 1992, a Queens-based organization protested the multicultural Children of Rainbow Curriculum for elementary school children, as this curriculum discussed information about lesbian and gay lives. To appease these protests the school board planned to dump mentions of lesbians and gays.

The Avengers took their case to the kids by showing up with a marching band and handing out balloons instructing them to "Ask about lesbian lives." During this action, the Avengers wore shirts proclaiming "I was a lesbian child."

They continued actions to support the Rainbow Curriculum, including a protest at the Brooklyn Board of Education.

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Anna Simo
Sarah Schulman
Maxine Wolfe
Anne-Christine d'Adensky
Marie Honan
Anna Maguire

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April 1993

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In 1993, a lesbian and a gay man, Hattie Mae Cohens and Brian Mock, burned to death in Salem, Oregon after a Molotov cocktail was tossed into the apartment they shared. A month later, at a memorial for the victims, the newly formed Lesbian Avengers gave their response to the deaths. They held a vigil, and performed their first act of fire eating, as they chanted: "The fire will not consume us. We take it and make it our own."

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1992-1993 Avengers held a 24-hour a day vigil to protest the fire-bombing murders of Hattie Mae Cohens and Brian Mock in Oregon.

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"The fire will not consume us. We take it and make it our own."

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1993Avengers eat fire in front of the White House during the Dyke March, April 24, 1993.

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NYC 1993

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1994 The second annual Dyke March goes international on June 25, 1994.

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To celebrate Valentines Day, the Avengers installed a statue of Alice B. Toklas next to the statue of Gertrude Stein in Manhattan's Bryant Park.

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1993 To celebrate Valentines Day, the Avengers installed a statue of Alice B. Toklas next to the statue of Gertrude Stein in Manhattan's Bryant Park.

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ACT-UP Women's Network trained and served as marshals, blocking traffic so marchers and drivers were safe. These non-violent tactics are still used in today.

Unlike Pride, the Dyke March is unpermitted. Marchers do not secure permits before taking the street, as the march is a protest for dyke equality. Every year, front line marshals negotiate their right to peaceful protest with local law enforcement.

The Dyke March is also unsponsored. The action does not have corporate sponsors. Groups are encouraged to march together, but stores and franchises are not permitted. The march is open to anyone who identifies as a dyke.

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The Avengers quickly spread world wide after they organized a Dyke March for lesbian visibility on the even of the Lesbian and Gay March on Washington in 1993. This event mobilized 20,000 lesbians.

The Avengers also developed a civil rights organizing project that captioned out grassroots activism, fought homophobic initiatives, and trained activists for long-term resistance.

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http://www.lesbianavengers.com/
Fb: Lesbian Avenger Documentary Project
Twitter: @lesbianavenger

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The Lesbian Avengers broke new ground with the Lesbian Avengers' Civil Rights Organizing Project (LACROP). This grassroots organizing project was particularly notable for dumping the town-down model of most organizations, for encouraging activist to be entirely out, and also for its success fighting LGBT housing discrimination in Idaho.

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1. It is vital to organize as OUT LESBIANS regardless of the work we are doing.
2. People are different. We are most effective when we work with people who share our basic ethical and political perspective, instead of trying to pressure everyone into a single strategy or single organization.
3. We must challenge racism and classism concretely--in our organizing efforts.
4. There is more than one message.
5. It is crucial that lesbians around the country share resources, experiences, and support.