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Achebe Betty Powell

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Achebe Betty Powell
A Black woman with short dark hair, wearing aviator glasses and hoop earrings, speaking into a microphone
Achebe Betty Powell, from a 1978 publication; photographed by Cynthia MacAdams
Born
Betty Jean Kelly

June 14, 1940
Florida, U.S.
DiedFebruary 21, 2023 (age 82)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Occupation(s)Educator, activist, consultant, community leader
Known forCo-founder of Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice

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.

Early life and education

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Betty 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

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Powell 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

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Betty 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

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  1. ^ Clarke, Marissa D. (2007-09-30). "Celebrating a century with friends". The Miami Herald. p. 303. Retrieved 2024-06-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Cassell, Heather (2023-03-03). "Former Task Force board co-chair Achebe Betty Powell dies at 82". Gay City News. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Collection: Achebe Betty Powell papers". Smith College Finding Aids. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  4. ^ "Honoring Achebe Powell". Middle Church. 2023-03-20. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  5. ^ "Black LGBTQI Futures Month: Achebe Powell". Astraea Lesbian Foundation For Justice. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  6. ^ Factora, James (2023-02-28). "Pioneering Black Lesbian Activist Achebe Betty Powell Has Died at 82". Them. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  7. ^ Youmans, Greg (2011-12-06). Word is Out: A Queer Film Classic. arsenal pulp press. ISBN 978-1-55152-421-4.
  8. ^ "Behind the Scenes of a Movement". SAGE. 2018-12-12. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  9. ^ "Queer Left Histories: Achebe Powell and Martin Duberman on Culture and Politics". The Scholar & Feminist Online. 2012-04-06. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  10. ^ Anderson, Kelly. Oral history interview with Achebe Betty Powell (July 6 and 7, 2004). Voices of Feminism Oral History Project, Sophia Smith Collection.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ Simonette, Matt (2023-02-24). "Passages: Longtime activist Achebe (Betty) Powell passes away". Windy City Times. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  13. ^ Ring, Trudy (February 27, 2023). "Longtime Lesbian Activist Achebe Betty Powell Dies at 82". Advocate. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  14. ^ "Achebe Betty Powell, Stonewall Wall of Honor". Stonewall Wall of Honor. 2023-05-15. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
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