Lilli Vincenz was a filmmaker, psychotherapist, and LGBTQIA+ activist among the first lesbians to openly protest for equal treatment in front of the White House.
- Died: June 27, 2023 (Who else died on June 27?)
- Details of death: Died of natural causes at an assisted living facility in Oakton, Virginia, at the age of 85.
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Lilli Vincenz’s legacy
When Vincenz got involved with the nascent gay rights movement in the early 1960s, she ended up taking part in a series of firsts. In 1963, she was the first lesbian to join the Mattachine Society of Washington (MSW), the first major gay rights organization in Washington, D.C. In April 1965, when the organization protested in front of the White House, it is believed that Vincenz was the first lesbian to do so. She also helped organize other groundbreaking protests, including one at Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
Born in Germany, Vincenz moved to the U.S. in 1949, earning her Master’s in English at Columbia University in 1960. She would later earn a second master’s from George Mason University and a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland. After graduation, she joined the U.S. Army’s Women Corps, in part to help her explore a career as a therapist. However, a roommate outed her as a gay woman, and she was discharged as a result. Her work as an activist followed, continuing throughout the 1960s and ‘70s. She often documented these protests on film, the footage which has since been donated to the Library of Congress.
In 1969, she and fellow activist Nancy Tucker created the Gay Blade, an independent newspaper focused on LGBTQIA+ topics that continues publication today as the Washington Blade. In the 1970s, Vincenz opened a private practice as a therapist, focusing on assisting lesbians and bisexual women with their mental health. In the 1980s and 1990s, she also put her efforts towards assisting gay men during the peak years of the AIDS epidemic. Locally, she held the Gay Women’s Open House in Washington, D.C., throughout the 1970s, which provided a safe space for LGBTQIA+ women to discuss their lives.
Notable quote
“I just feel ecstatic about the younger generation and what they’re doing. There’s a groundswell of people who finally feel empowered, that they can make a difference.”— from an interview in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2009
Tributes to Lilli Vincenz
Full obituary: Washington Blade
