Katherine Duffy

Katherine “Kit” Duffy
Born1944 (1944)
Hagerstown, Maryland
DiedDecember 22, 2015(2015-12-22) (aged 70–71)
Known forFirst liaison to the gay and lesbian community in Chicago

Katherine “Kit” Duffy (1944, Hagerstown, Maryland[1]-December 22, 2015)[2] was the first liaison to the gay and lesbian community in Chicago. She was appointed in 1984 by Mayor Harold Washington. Her concerns at the time were AIDS education and issues related to equality and fairness. At the same time, Duffy served as the first executive director of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago.[3]

Biography

Her commitment to activism came from witnessing racial discrimination growing up in Hagerstown, Maryland. She attended Northwestern University beginning in 1964.[1] Duffy died at the age of 71 die to complications of heart surgery.[4]

Honors and awards

Duffy is a 2008 inductee into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame.[3] Part of the reason for her induction was the role she played in securing the passage of the ordinance, in 1988, of the Chicago ordinance that banned discrimination against gays and lesbians.[4]

Legacy

When Duffy died, longtime gay rights activist Rick Garcia said Duffy was the “midwife of the modern gay-rights movement in Illinois.”[4]

References

  1. ^ a b "KATHERINE (KIT) DUFFY". Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  2. ^ Gurciullo, Brianna (January 4, 2016). "Katherine Duffy, Chicago's first liaison to gay, lesbian community, dies at 71". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Katherine Duffy, Champion of AIDS and LGBT issues, Dies at 71". Poz. January 5, 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  4. ^ a b c O’Donnell, Maureen (December 22, 2015). "Katherine 'Kit' Duffy, city's 1st liaison to gay and lesbian community, dies at 71". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  • v
  • t
  • e
1990–1999
1991
  • Ortez Alderson
  • Jon-Henri Damski
  • James W. Flint
  • Gay Chicago
  • Renee C. Hanover
  • Howard Brown Health Center
  • Judith S. Johns
  • Carol A. Johnson
  • William B. Kelley
  • Marie J. Kuda
  • Chuck Renslow
  • Adrienne J. Smith
  • Max C. Smith
  • Richard B. Turner
1992
1993
1994
  • Robert J. Adams
  • Tracy Baim
  • George S. Buse
  • James A. Bussen
  • Lori Cannon
  • John Chester
  • Chicago House and Social Service Agency
  • Samuel F. Davis Jr.
  • Adrienne J. Goodman
  • Earnest E. Hite Jr.
  • Bruce Koff
  • Ellis B. Levin
  • Lionheart Gay Theatre Company
  • Open Hand Chicago
  • Gregory A. Sprague
  • Elizabeth E. Tocci
  • Steven F. Wakefield
1995
1996
1997
  • Toni Armstrong Jr.
  • Miguel Ayala
  • Roger Chaffin
  • James C. Darby
  • Dignity Chicago
  • Ida Greathouse
  • John Hammell
  • Rick Karlin
  • Corinne J. Kawecki
  • Larry McKeon
  • David G. Ostrow
  • Mary Ann Smith
1998
1999
2000–2009
2000
2001
2002
  • Affinity Community Services
  • Evette Cardona
  • C. C. Carter
  • Jim Gates (Chicago businessman)
  • Louis I. Lang
  • Mattachine Midwest
  • NAMES Project Chicago Chapter
  • Charles Edward Nelson II
  • Mona Noriega
  • Christina Smith
  • Lauren Sugerman
2003
  • Angel Abcede
  • About Face Theatre
  • AIDS Legal Council of Chicago
  • Buddies' Restaurant and Bar
  • Tania Callaway
  • Armand R. Cerbone
  • Chicago Black Lesbians and Gays
  • R. Sue Connolly
  • Bon Foster
  • The Graham Family
  • Tonda L. Hughes
  • Patricia M. Logue
  • John Pennycuff
  • Laurence E. Spang
  • Sheron Denise Webb
  • Albert N. Williams
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
  • Jane Addams
  • Suzanne Arnold
  • Artemis Singers
  • Kevin G. Boyer
  • Michal Brody
  • Sam Coady
  • Gregory R. Dell
  • Katherine (Kit) Duffy
  • Eddie Dugan
  • Murray Edelman
  • Wanda Lust
  • Joe La Pat
  • Jesus Salgueiro and Art Smith
  • Guy Warner
2009
2010–2019
2010
2011
  • Paul Adams
  • Greg Cameron
  • Antonia Flores
  • Grant Lynn Ford
  • Robert Garofalo
  • Good Shepherd Parish Metropolitan Community Church
  • Ted Grady
  • Marcia Hill
  • Tony Jackson
  • Jenner & Block LLP
  • Lakeside Pride Music Ensembles
  • The Night Ministry
  • Brett Shingledecker
  • Jon Simmons
2012
  • Lois L. Bates
  • Chi-Town Squares
  • Chicago Black Gay Men's Caucus
  • St. Sukie de la Croix
  • Sanford E. Gaylord
  • William W. Greaves
  • Keith R. Green
  • Mark Ishaug
  • David Orr
  • Proud to Run, Chicago
  • Bill Pry
  • Chuck Rodocker
  • Heather C. Sawyer
  • Laura S. Washington
  • Honey West
2013
2014
2015
  • Jean Albright
  • Fred Eychaner
  • Emmanuel Garcia
  • Stanley Jencyzk
  • Lesbian and Gay Police Association
  • Gay Officers Action League
  • Phoenix Matthews
  • Gail Morse
  • Michael O'Connor
  • Jan Schakowsky
  • Barbara Smith
  • Camilla B. Taylor
  • Lauren Verdich
2016
2017
2020–2029
2020
2021
  • Ginni Clemmens
  • Lisa Isadora Cruz
  • Lana Hostetler
  • Thomas Hunt (activist)
  • Wayne Johnson (graphic designer)
  • Otis Mack
  • PrideChicago
  • Ralphi Rosario
  • Betty Lark Ross
  • Urban Pride
  • Kirk Williamson
    2022
  • Maya Green
  • Zahara Monique Bassett
  • Matthew Harvat
  • Paul Highfield
  • Thomas (T.L.) Noble
  • Joey Soloway
  • Dan Wolf (Chicago)
  • Windy City Performer Arts
  • Outspoken (Chicago)
  • Homocore Chicago
  • Patty the Pin Lady
  • Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center
  • Season of Concern Chicago