Achebe Betty Powell (June 14, 1940 – February 21, 2023) was an American activist and community leader. She was co-founder of the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, and served on the board of the National LGBTQ Task Force.
Achebe Betty Powell | |
|---|---|
 Achebe Betty Powell, from a 1978 publication; photographed by Cynthia MacAdams | |
| Born | Betty Jean Kelly June 14, 1940 Florida, U.S. |
| Died | February 21, 2023 (age 82) Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Educator, activist, consultant, community leader |
| Known for | Co-founder of Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice |
Early life and education
editBetty Jean Kelly was born in Florida, the daughter of Jesse Kelly and Rachel Harris (later known as Rachel Long).[1] She lived in Germany for several years as a teenager, because her father was in the United States Army and stationed there.[2] She converted to Roman Catholicism in Germany, and graduated from the College of St. Catherine with a bachelor's degree in French. She earned a master's degree in French language and literature from Fordham University in 1964.[3]
Career
editPowell taught high school French in New York City, and was a French and linguistics professor at Brooklyn College. She was director of the Kitchen Table Press. In 1989, she started a consulting business, Betty Powell Associates, focused on diversity policies and anti-racism training.[3]
Powell was a founding member of Salsa Soul Sisters and the National Coalition of Black Lesbians and Gays.[3] She was co-founder of the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice.[4][5] She was the first Black lesbian member of the board of the National Gay Task Force.[6] In 1977, she participated in a White House meeting of LGBTQ leaders with Jimmy Carter. She was featured in a documentary, Word is Out (1977).[7]
Powell was active in the United Nations World Conferences on Women,[3] and SAGE, an advocacy organization for LGBTQ elders.[8] In 2003 she co-founded Queers for Economic Justice with Martin Duberman.[9] In 2004 she gave an oral history interview for the Sophia Smith Collection of Women's History at Smith College.[10]
Personal life and legacy
editBetty Kelly was briefly married to Bill Powell in the 1960s. Her longterm partners were Virginia Apuzzo[11] and Linda Fraser. At age 65, Powell changed her named to Achebe Betty Powell. Powell died in Brooklyn in February 2023, at the age of 82, from COVID-19.[12][13] Her papers are held in the Sophia Smith Collection of Women's History at Smith College.[3] Her name was added to the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor in 2023.[14]
References
edit- ^ Clarke, Marissa D. (2007-09-30). "Celebrating a century with friends". The Miami Herald. p. 303. Retrieved 2024-06-02 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Cassell, Heather (2023-03-03). "Former Task Force board co-chair Achebe Betty Powell dies at 82". Gay City News. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
- ^ a b c d e "Collection: Achebe Betty Powell papers". Smith College Finding Aids. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
- ^ "Honoring Achebe Powell". Middle Church. 2023-03-20. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
- ^ "Black LGBTQI Futures Month: Achebe Powell". Astraea Lesbian Foundation For Justice. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
- ^ Factora, James (2023-02-28). "Pioneering Black Lesbian Activist Achebe Betty Powell Has Died at 82". Them. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
- ^ Youmans, Greg (2011-12-06). Word is Out: A Queer Film Classic. arsenal pulp press. ISBN 978-1-55152-421-4.
- ^ "Behind the Scenes of a Movement". SAGE. 2018-12-12. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
- ^ "Queer Left Histories: Achebe Powell and Martin Duberman on Culture and Politics". The Scholar & Feminist Online. 2012-04-06. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
- ^ Anderson, Kelly. Oral history interview with Achebe Betty Powell (July 6 and 7, 2004). Voices of Feminism Oral History Project, Sophia Smith Collection.
- ^ Gallo, Marcia (2019-02-26). "Tre Donne: Kitty Genovese, Diane di Prima, Virginia Apuzzo and the Roots of Italian-American Feminism in 1960s New York". The Gotham Center for New York City History. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
- ^ Simonette, Matt (2023-02-24). "Passages: Longtime activist Achebe (Betty) Powell passes away". Windy City Times. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
- ^ Ring, Trudy (February 27, 2023). "Longtime Lesbian Activist Achebe Betty Powell Dies at 82". Advocate. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
- ^ "Achebe Betty Powell, Stonewall Wall of Honor". Stonewall Wall of Honor. 2023-05-15. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
External links
edit- "Achebe Powell on personal intersectionality" a video of Powell speaking, posted to YouTube by the LGBT Center of New York City in 2019
- "Homegoing Service for Achebe Betty Powell" a video of Powell's 2023 memorial service at Middle Collegiate Church, streamed by the church to YouTube